| Duration: | 1 Day(s) - 0 Night(s) |
| Tour Category: | Culture Tours |
Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved. Baalbek’s monuments suffered from theft, war, and earthquakes, as well as from numerous medieval additions.
Explore More About Baalbeck:
Baalbek is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about 67 km northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman times Baalbek was also known as Heliopolis.
Baalbek Temple
Baalbek is an incredible monument, standing on a hill in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon. The construction of the expansive temple was begun by the Phoenicians between three and four thousand years ago. The Greeks then added to it, followed by the Romans, and much later the Arabs.
Local legend has it that the temple was originally built by people “from the East”; not much is known beyond that. I have visited the place several times and enjoyed long walks through the ruins, but it was not until my pursuit of yoga that I found revealing connections to other civilizations.
One of the principal structures on the site is the Temple of Jupiter (completed 2nd century CE), only portions of which remain. It was a massive building, entered by propylaea, or entranceway, leading to a hexagonal forecourt and then to a rectangular main court 343 feet (104.5 meters) long and 338 feet (103 meters) wide.
The Temple of Bacchus is also Corinthian. Of the 42 columns comprising its peripheral colonnade, 23 have toppled. Its symbolic decoration shows that it was dedicated to the same agricultural gods as the great temple, but the prevalence of bacchic symbols in the interior probably indicates instead the practice of a salvational mystery religion.
Other ruins include a round Temple of Venus, remains of the town walls, traces of a temple dedicated to Hermes, important Roman mosaics from private homes, a ruined mosque with reemployed antique material, and extensive Arab fortifications.
