Tyre
صور | |
---|---|
City | |
Arabic transcription(s) | |
• Latin | Ṣūr |
Coordinates: 33°16′15″N 35°11′46″E / 33.27083°N 35.19611°E | |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | South Governorate |
District | Tyre |
Municipalities | Abbassieh, Ain Baal, Borj Ech Chemali, Sour |
Established | c. 2750 BCE |
Area | |
• City | 4 km2 (2 sq mi) |
• Metro | 17 km2 (7 sq mi) |
Population | |
• City | 60,000 |
• Density | 15,000/km2 (39,000/sq mi) |
• Metro | 174,000 |
Demonym | Tyrian |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | iii, vi |
Designated | 1984 (8th session) |
Reference no. | 299 |
Tyre (/ˈtaɪər/; Arabic: صُور, romanized: Ṣūr; Phoenician: 𐤑𐤓, romanized: Ṣūr; Hebrew: צוֹר, romanized: Ṣōr; ‹See Tfd›Greek: Τύρος, translit. Týros) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world,[1] though in medieval times for some centuries by just a small population. It was one of the earliest Phoenician metropolises and the legendary birthplace of Europa, her brothers Cadmus and Phoenix, as well as Carthage's founder Dido (Elissa). The city has many ancient sites, including the Tyre Hippodrome, and was added as a whole to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984.[2] The historian Ernest Renan noted that "One can call Tyre a city of ruins, built out of ruins".[3][4]
Today, Tyre is the fifth largest city in Lebanon after Beirut, Tripoli, Sidon, and Baalbek.[5] It is the capital of the Tyre District in the South Governorate. There were approximately 200,000 inhabitants in the Tyre urban area in 2016, including many refugees, as the city hosts three of the twelve Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon: Burj El Shimali, El Buss, and Rashidieh.[6]