LEBANON. BEQAA VALLEY. BEKAA. BAALBEK (BALABAK)

Phoenician city of BAALBEK (greek-roman HELIOPOLIS), Archaeology

Temple of Jupiter

"The complex of temples at Baalbek is located at the foot of the south-west slope of Anti-Lebanon, bordering the fertile plain of the Bekaa at an altitude of 1150 m.  The city of Baalbek reached its apogee during Roman times.  Its colossal constructions built over a period of more than two centuries, make it one of the most famous sanctuaries of the Roman world and a model of Imperial Roman architecture. Pilgrims thronged to the sanctuary to venerate the three deities, known under the name of the Romanized Triad of Heliopolis, an essentially Phoenician cult (Jupiter, Venus and Mercury). 

The importance of this amalgam of ruins of the Greco-Roman period with even more ancient vestiges of Phoenician tradition, are based on its outstanding artistic and architectural value. The acropolis of Baalbek comprises several temples. The Roman construction was built on top of earlier ruins which were formed into a raised plaza, formed of  twenty-four monoliths, the largest  weighing over 800 tons." (Cited from WHC-UNESCO)

 Temple of Bacchus

Entrance into Bacchus Temple

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