I traveled south of Beirut to the old city of Saida along the Mediteranean. Luckily I had a personal tour guide in my friend Mark, a local friend I had made during my stay in Beirut. We drove through the flooded streets of Beirut and an hour later when we arrived in Saida the sun came out and the rains stopped; Mother Nature must have known that I wanted to take lots of pictures in Saida and decided to cooperate.
The souks of Saida were some of the most impressive I had seen during my time in Lebanon. The old souk had been refurbished recently and the stonework made me feel as if I were in Italy. Narrow streets, pointed archways, shuttered homes made up the maze of the local souks. Much like the Tripoli souks, this was not for tourists, it was filled with locals and clearly this is where locals shopped for food, furniture, clothes, home supplies, and fresh fruit and vegetables.
As Mark and I walked through the souks with our cameras everyone assumed that Mark was also a tourist like me; he played along and was amazed at the hospitality that visitors received. Plus he was able to translate everything for me which was a real treat; finally I could understand what people were saying about me! We walked through the maze of alleys getting lost in dead ends and having locals invite us into their homes; as with the rest of Lebanon, everyone was eager to meet us and show off their hospitality. Bakers gave us sweets, people invited us for tea, kids smiled, and the police men even waved at us. Mark decided he loved being a tourist in his own country.
These photos depict the personality of the souks of Saida and the kind people we met.
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Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
