Just before we arrived in the town centre we passed many families sitting in the long grass, beside the road, having picnics. The men had their hubbly bubbly pipes out and the women were organising the food and children.
Near the city centre is a small island housing a 13th century sea castle founded by the Crusaders. The sea was polluted with styrafoam, old tyres, and thousands of black plastic bags. A strong wind was blowing and the rubbish bobbed on the surface near the sea wall. Coffee vendors tied huge canvas umbrellas to the handrails on the footpath to provide shelter and to entice customers but it was too cold and uncomfortable for that.
The caravanserai was deserted although it was well renovated and in good condition. Maybe it is full of stall holders in the peak season. The bazaar was well presented having been recently renovated. It was the cleanest and best organised one we have seen so far. We could see the furniture makers at work and no one pestered us to look or buy.
We found the Soap Museum that dated back to the 17th century. It has been financed by a foundation and they have a short film showing the processes and have kept the original workshop as it was. The soap is made with olive oil and a bar can take a year or longer to dry.
As we left Saida along the coast road we saw dozens and dozens of young people lining the street. They had their cars parked with music blaring and were watching boys on motorbikes racing up and down the public 4 lane highway around the commuter traffic. The police were nearby but didn't seem to do anything about the racing. The bikes had numbers so it was some kind of organised race. It reminded us of the 'boy racers' in our area, but they come out at night.
