 Baalbeck
85 kilometers from Beirut
Is nested in a plain between the
parallel ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains,
some 85 kilometers north-east of Beirut. It is one
of the world’s greatest historical sites, the
most gigantic complex of Roman temples ever built;
its columns are the tallest ever created, its stones
the largest ever used. The Acropolis of Baalbeck is
the largest and best preserved corpus of Roman architecture
left to us. Its temples, dedicated to Jupiter, Venus
and Bacchus (larger than Parthenon in Athens).were
built in the second and third centuries AD.
Baal-Bek, or town of Baal (who was
a Phoenician god) gave the name to the town that is
still in use.
For a number of years Baalbeck’s flooflit mercurial
columns presided over the annual renowned international
festival which featured theater groups, orchestras,
ballet troupes and performers from all parts of the
world.
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