U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan spent much of the second and last day of their visit to Lebanon touring historical churches and a centuries-old citadel in this coastal city.
Saturday's tour in Byblos and a nearby village came a day after Pompeo blasted the militant Hezbollah group and called on the Lebanese people to stand up to its "criminality."
Pompeo began his day by visiting the site where a new U.S. embassy compound is being built then drove to the village of Behdaidat northeast of Beirut where he visited the 13th century Mar Tadros, or St. Theodore church.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits a church at the village of Bahdidat, near Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)
He then visited the citadel of Byblos, a world heritage site, before having lunch in a restaurant by the sea then departing the country shortly before sunset.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan visit a church at Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim YoungPool via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tours the Byblos citadel, in Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tours the Byblos citadel, in Byblos, Lebanon, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Jim YoungPool Photo via AP)