www.dailystar.com Sidon - or the Phoenician Sai-doon - is a coastal city with vast potential to attract scores of tourists every year, similar to its northern sister-cities, Baalbek and Beiteddine, but simply lacks the necessary resources to do so.

"Sidon has its own select patrons," says Nada Sardouk, the director general of the Tourism Ministry. "Its character is different from other cities. Each city in Lebanon has its own personality and the types of tourists who visit Tyre or Baalbek are different from the type that visits Sidon."

Numerous steps are being taken to increase the city's tourism numbers, such as the opening of Sidon's first motel, Yaacoub, but much remains to be done.

Sidon natives who have moved to other areas are more than familiar with one of the most frequent questions from their friends when they are planning to return home: "Are you going to your village?"

Despite Sidon being the third largest city in Lebanon, and to the frustration of many locals, it is still referred to as a village. This label is only reinforced by the "small town" atmosphere that has remained through the years, where everyone knows everyone, and the main entertainment for youths is the Aabra kazdoura - cruising up and down Aabra Street in the evenings, each car competing to crank out the loudest music its speakers can handle.

For tourists, the journey can start at the entrance of Sidon, on the Awwali River, where the temple of Echmoun lies.

Inside the city rests the old castle by the sea and not much farther one finds the Khan al-Franj, one of the many souks built by Fakhreddine II.

Today, Khan al-Franj is the property of the French Embassy and serves as a rented base for the Hariri Foundation, which organizes cultural and art exhibitions.

The Khan is also the center of annual festivals promoted through the slogan "Sidon: a City for Life," which has united Lebanese and Arab performers on several occasions.

Other rehabilitation efforts of old historical monuments were made by the Audi family, such as the transformation of the old soap factory into a soap museum, and the Debbaneh family's restoration of the old Debbaneh Palace that now also serves as a museum.

Those looking for a taste of Beirut's Monot Street or Batroun's busy nightlife will be disappointed however, due to the city's rather conservative nature.

However, they will definitely find the flavorful atmosphere of a typically Oriental evening.

In addition, several French and Italian restaurants and cafes have been opening as of late to add a bit of a modern feel to the city's evening entertainment.

The revival of the downtown area in "Old Sidon" during the month of Ramadan has also added a new dimension, where several new cafes opened, but with a more Oriental taste than downtown Beirut.

However, one must keep in mind that Sidon's cafes do not offer international menus. They tend to limit themselves to presenting traditional manakish, falafel and nargileh.

According to Sidon MP Bahiya Hariri, the Old City revival project began with the locals and the potential that Sidon has to offer.

"They were conscious of what they had, which added to the path of development," Hariri said.

However, according to the MP, many challenges are still ahead. Extensive work needs to be undertaken, she said, to turn this "village-esque town into a booming metropolis, and attract tourists and investors."

"Tourism is not only about sightseeing," said Mohammed al-Zaatari, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Sidon and the South.

"It is a whole package that starts with human and cultural interaction; an atmosphere of free dialogue and the respect of the other," Zaatari added, but presently the city is lacking trained human resources who can help with a "comfortable or sizeable tourism project."

Zaatari said "the freedom of acting and taking effective decisions without having different sides opposing," is one of the elements hindering progress.

Hariri said that a stable infrastructure already exists in the "Old City," with rich cultural and tourism venues.

However, the main problem the Sidon MP saw was the city's roads, which are in serious need of repair.

The second problem Hariri listed was image-related.

"Some people, when they hear about Sidon, they unconsciously think about the past," she said.

"Sidon is a victim of a lot of destruction that occurred during the [civil] war, especially when the Israelis invaded."

The development process is under way but it needs time, she added. "We have cut a really long phase, and the road is not completed yet."

With the cultural and artistic activities that are currently being organized, Hariri said that Sidon will soon have its recognizable place on the "tourism map."

Hariri and Zaatari both agreed that the Tourism Ministry should take a more active role in the rehabilitation of Sidon's tourism industry.

Director General Sardouk, said that the ministry's marketing and promotional plan includes Sidon, along with all other tourism sites, but added that the tourism infrastructure in Sidon is not yet available, i.e. hotels and restaurants.

Sardouk stressed the "needed cooperation between the local community and all other public administrations for the development of tourism in Sidon."

By all accounts, if efforts are sustained, in a few years the Phoenician city that is now being referred to as a "village" could be a the preferred destination for tourists looking for a traditional, oriental city that has the history of Lebanon written on the walls of its palaces, mosques, churches and khans.