Wender·Vista
Byblos
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileLebanon
on the Lebanese coast north of Beirut

Byblos

— — a harbour the centuries kept coming back to.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“One of the oldest continuously inhabited towns on the Mediterranean. The old harbour is small, a half-moon of stone with a Crusader castle above it and a souk of low arches behind. Fishing boats still tie up where Phoenician cedar went out as cargo, and a few of the wooden doors in the lanes are older than most countries. The light off the water is white at noon and ochre by late afternoon, and the cats know the rhythm of both.

from the studio
Byblos
— bring it home

Byblos, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Byblos

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Byblos, known in Arabic as Jbeil, sits on the Mediterranean coast about 40 kilometres north of Beirut, in Lebanon's Mount Lebanon Governorate. Archaeological layers at the site reach back to the Neolithic, and the town has been continuously inhabited for roughly 7,000 years. It was a leading Phoenician port, trading cedar with Egypt; the Greek name for papyrus, byblos, travelled back to it through that same harbour, and from byblos came the word Bible. UNESCO inscribed the site in 1984 for its layered record of Phoenician, Roman, and Crusader occupation.

— the stone

Three structures define the skyline above the harbour. The Crusader castle was built around 1103 by the Genoese, using blocks reused from earlier Roman and Phoenician buildings already on the site. Below it stand the colonnades of a Roman theatre, repositioned closer to the cliff in the twentieth century to face the sea. The old souk, with its low limestone arches and tiled roofs, is medieval at the base and Ottoman above. The stone in all of them is the same warm honey colour that the western light pulls forward each evening.

— the visit

The archaeological site and Crusader castle are open daily, with a single ticket covering both. Most visitors arrive from Beirut by car or service taxi along the coastal highway, a drive of roughly an hour outside rush hour. The old souk and harbour are free to wander; small fish restaurants line the quay and stay open late in summer. Spring and autumn are the best months: April through June and September through early November bring mild air and the cleanest light off the water. Modest dress is appreciated in the older churches inside the walls.

— where
Lebanon · Jbeil, Mount Lebanon
— position
34.1232° N · 35.6519° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
40 km S
Beirut
capital city
20 km S
Harissa
Marian shrine
25 km S
Jeita Grotto
limestone caves
N
Byblos
Beirut
Harissa
Jeita Grotto
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Byblos — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It is among the oldest continuously inhabited towns on the Mediterranean, with about 7,000 years of layered settlement. It was a major Phoenician port and gave its name, through papyrus trade, to the word Bible.

On the Lebanese coast in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, about 40 kilometres north of Beirut. The modern town and the old harbour both go by the Arabic name Jbeil.

Yes. UNESCO inscribed Byblos on the World Heritage list in 1984 for its archaeological record of Phoenician, Roman, and Crusader occupation layered on a single site.

Around 1103, by Genoese crusaders who reused Roman and Phoenician blocks already on the site. It still stands above the old harbour and is open to visitors as part of the archaeological area.

April through June and September through early November bring mild air and clean coastal light. Summer is hot and crowded; winter is wet but quiet, with the harbour at its emptiest.

By car or service taxi along the coastal highway, roughly an hour outside rush hour. Buses from Charles Helou station also run regularly to Jbeil along the same route.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers from the Lebanese diaspora. Byblos carries a long memory for the country, and a Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The warm honey stone and Mediterranean blues sit well in Coastal-modern, warm Minimalist, and old-world Mediterranean rooms. It also lifts a quiet stone-and-linen palette without crowding it.

Yes. The current Mediterranean-modern direction leans into ochre stone, soft whites, and aged blues, which is the natural palette of this piece. It anchors that look without leaning kitsch.

Above a standard sofa, the single Large reads as a focal piece. For a wider wall or a long console, a 4-tile Mural carries the field, and a 9-tile Mural fills a room-defining wall.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and made for vertical installation in showers, backsplashes, and bath walls. Glossy is best kept to framed wall art.

A microfibre cloth and clean water are enough. No abrasive pads, no bleach-based sprays. The colour lives in the surface, so it will not fade with normal cleaning.

Yes. Every piece in the WenderVista atlas is original to the studio. We do not license artwork in or out; the curation, the painting, and the finishing all happen under one roof.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.