Tyre Coast Nature Reserve to the southeast of
Tyre, Lebanon
Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, though in medieval times for some centuries by just a tiny pop ...
covers over and is divided into three zones: the tourism zone (public beaches, the old city and Souks, the ancient port), the agricultural and archaeological zone, and the Conservation zone that includes the
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n springs of
Ras El Ain
Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey ...
. Established in 1998, is an important sanctuary for wildlife and includes a public beach with yellow sand. The reserve is bisected by the
Rachidiye refugee camp.
Due to its diverse flora and fauna, the reserve is a designated
Ramsar Site. It is an important nesting site for migratory birds and the endangered
Loggerhead and
green sea turtle and the shelter of the
Arabian spiny mouse
The eastern spiny mouse or Arabian spiny mouse (''Acomys dimidiatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. They have a wide range, having been found in Middle Eastern deserts, as well as being prevalent in riverine forests in Africa. ...
and many other important creatures (including
wall lizards,
common pipistrelle
The common pipistrelle (''Pipistrellus pipistrellus'') is a small pipistrelle microbat whose very large range extends across most of Europe, North Africa, South Asia, and may extend into Korea. It is one of the most common bat species in the Brit ...
, and
european badger
The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stab ...
).
Plant species include the
cattail
''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in ...
,
sea daffodil, and
sand lily.
See also
2021 Mediterranean oil spill
The 2021 Mediterranean oil spill was an ecological disaster which occurred in February 2021 along the Mediterranean coast of Israel and Lebanon. Starting on 16 February 2021, dozens to hundreds of tons of tar washed up on the beaches along ...
References
Parks in Lebanon
Ramsar sites in Lebanon
Tourist attractions in Lebanon
{{lebanon-geo-stub