I am currently in Tyre, in the deep south of Lebanon. From my hotel room, I can see the sea and hear the surf, and if I turn my head a bit to the right, I can see the remains of the former ‘Egyptian port’ and the place where Alexander’s battering ram, built on three ships, managed to breach Tyre’s sea wall.
If I look to the left, I can see the beach from where the supreme god Zeus, in the shape of a bull, abducted the Phoenician princess Europe. There’s nothing special to be seen, but for one reason or another, I like the contrast between the ancient tale and the fact that the hills beyond the mythological beach are, in our own, modern world, controlled by Hezbollah.
