Sidon

Sidon is an ancient harbour on the Lebanese coast, protected by a rocky shore and backed by the mountains. A Phoenician city renowned for maritime commerce, it traded across the Mediterranean long before the Roman and Islamic periods. Its sea castle, raised on a small island and joined to the shore by a causeway, recalls the wars of the Crusades, while its markets served the villages and orchards of the hinterland.

Under Ottoman rule Sidon became an important outlet for silk and cotton. Emir Fakhr al-Din II promoted coastal commerce in the early seventeenth century, and European merchants established themselves in the town. The great khan housed traders and provided storage around a central courtyard. Caravans brought goods from Damascus and the mountains, while ships carried produce to Mediterranean ports. French merchants also imported cloth, spices, iron and dyes in exchange for the goods they bought.

In the eighteenth century French merchants remained prominent in Sidon's trade. Travellers described exports of raw silk, cotton and grain, as well as cloth from Damascus, oil and other goods. Although an increasing share of the silk trade shifted north to Beirut, Sidon retained its commercial importance into the later eighteenth century. Its port and khans linked the work of inland cultivators and craftsmen with markets overseas.