Biblical Background
King Solomon wanted to build a temple for God, so he asked Hiram the King of Tyre, which is a port city south of the Biblical city of Sidon, to send him cedar wood from Lebanon. King Solomon also asked the King of Tyre to allow his servants to work along with the Lebanese Sidonians (from Sidon) to learn from them the skill of cutting timber. Both cedar and fir trees were cut from the Barook and Maaser Chouf area and later sent by sea on floats for which Solomon used 30,000 men. 960 B.C.