If Lebanon is Pearl of the Middle East, Baalbek is, with no a doubt, the heart of it. Belonging to pre-Hellenistic era, Baalbek is an ancient town in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon.
The ruins of the Roman temples in Baalbek speak about the glory of the then wonderful Roman Empire. The symbolic structures of the grafted deities and gods portray the ancient beliefs of the time. Even though the settlement in this area started almost 9000 years ago, however when Alexander the Excellent conquered this area, it was named as Heliopolis. The Greek also retained the status of Baalbek as the center of religious and cultural activities.
Baalbek, the heart of Lebanon is considered one of the ideal preserved ancient websites of the Roman civilization. The Baalbek Acropolis consists of collectively the temples of Venus, Jupiter and Bacchus. The columns of the temples are erected extremely tall and quite massive stones have been utilized in its building.
75 feet above the ground Jupiter Baal temple is constructed with tons of heavy blocks. These marvelous blocks are also utilised in the retaining walls on three sides of the temple. The Temple of Bacchus, in front of the Temple of Jupiter, is significantly greater preserved due to spending the centuries buried in rubble. A smaller sized temple, the Temple of Venus, supported by six granite columns, adjoined the Temple of Jupiter.
Due to its historical background, UNESCO listed the Baalbek city in The Planet Heritage list in 1984. It is a blend of Roman, Greek and Arab structures and UNESCO incorporated the complete region as protected web site which includes the Arab Walls, south-western extramural quarter among Bastan-al-Khan, the Roman site and the Mameluk mosque of Ras-al-ain.
Baalbek, the heart of Lebanon is home to the annual Baalbek International Festival.
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