Mr. Federico Mayor
Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the occasion of the launching of the International Campaign to Safeguard the Site (Tyre Lebanon), 3 March 1998
Tyre has a long history: it stretches back over thousands of years of civilizations whose name alone evokes the glory of empires. Phoenician navigators - excellent sailors and merchants - built up an exclusive and closely-knit network of trading posts and colonies in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coast from Wales to Africa. Nor should we forget that, according to one of the most well-known legends of Greek mythology, Tyre lies behind the name