Byblos Festival

Byblos Festival

May-September

The ancient city of Byblos in Lebanon has hosted an international music festival since the late 1960s. Performances of orchestral, chamber music, and jazz concerts are held throughout the summer. There are also plays, operettas, ballet, and modern dance recitals. Most of the events are held in the 12th-century castle built by the Crusaders out of the stones and granite columns of ancient Roman temples and public buildings.
Byblos, also known as Jubayl or Jebeil, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the world. The precursor of the modern alphabet was developed in Byblos, and the ancient Phoenicians exported their papyrus to the Aegean through the city. The English word "Bible" is derived from byblos, the early Greek name for papyrus.

CONTACTS:
Lebanon Ministry of Tourism
550 Central Bank St.
P.O. Box 11-5344
Hamra, Beirut Lebanon
961-134-0940; fax: 961-134-0940
www.byblosfestival.org
www.destinationlebanon.gov.lb

SOURCES:
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 264 (c)