Lebanon - Baalbeck

3 June 2008

Baalbeck

Towering high above the Beqaa plain, 85 km north east of Beirut, its monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. Gods worshipped here, in its Acropolis which was constructed between the 1st and 3rd centuries, the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus (Mercury), were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. (txt borrowed from the internet site Atlas Tours.Net)

It is said in our tour information that we are going to be visiting possibly the most outstanding example of Roman Ruins anywhere in the world – even more impressive than Athens or Rome.

Baalbeck, City of the Gods (sometimes known as the City of the Sun) is one of the most ancient cities of the world – built as a center for Pagan worship to the God of Sun, then the God Helios of the Greeks - when Baalbeck was renamed Heliopolis - and later the Roman God Jupiter. It took 10 generations to build and cost the lives of over 100,000 slaves.

On arrival, the grandiose nature of the site astounds us. There is an annual music festival held here which would be amazing to attend as the atmosphere of this site already overwhelms our senses. Its columns are the tallest ever erected, its stones the largest ever used.

The Propylaea and the Hexagonal Courtyard represent only a part of the site. See the photo of the information board which can be studied by clicking on it.

Note the sheer size of the buildings in the top photo where Pippy is the little dot standing in the middle in the front.

The third photo from the top shows the six remaining giant columns of the 54 which formed the sanctuary to the original Temple of Jupiter. On enlarging the photo the tiny dots of the people climbing over it can be seen.

Thanks to the work of German, French and Lebanese archaeologists over the past 100 years, the site can be viewed in close to its original form which adds to the very special nature of the Baalbeck site.

We wander around the site, barely able to absorb it all. We could visit here ten times and still find something new to see. However, too soon it is time to leave - our appetites are raging due to the early departure time and our next stop is for lunch.

We move on from Baalbeck through fertile plains of fruit trees, grapes and cedars to the Nabaar Anjar Restaurant for yet another feast of fresh local food, then on to the vineyards of Chateau Ksara where we explore the underground cellars before enjoying a wine tasting of the locally grown vintage. It is getting late when we arrive back at Jouneih Yacht Club and tonight is the night for our banquet which promises to be a very special event.