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Ba'albak (Baalbek)

Ba'albak (Baalbek) is a city of 85 thousand1 in the al-Biqā' (Beqaa or Bekaa) Valley of لبنان (Lubnān or Liban or Lebanon), east of the Litani River. Back in Roman times the rulers called it Heliopolis and built monumental religious structures dedicated to their pagan trinity, superimposed on the local pagan trinity. These temples earn the site UNESCO World Heritage status. Among the ruins are the sanctuary of Jupiter Heliopolitanus, of which six of 104 columns remain, and the colonnade of the Great Court, which had 128 rose granite columns.2 It is a popular tourist destination.

External references

Bacchus Temple remains, Ba'albak

Footnotes

1. world-gazetteer.com, accessed 6/3/2013.
2. UNESCO, World Heritage Sites (Firefly Books, 2010).