Baalbeck

When you visit Lebanon, you cannot miss visiting Baalbeck, one of the most impressive Roman Ruins in the World, and was designated UNESCO World Heritage since 1984;

Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the empire. It is Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, and it can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world, containing some of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins.

Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshiped there, the triad of Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design.

The greatest of the three temples was sacred to Jupiter Baal, ("Heliopolitan Zeus"), identified here with the sun, and was constructed during the first century CE (completed circa 60 CE). With it were associated a temple to Venus and a lesser temple in honor of Bacchus (though it was traditionally referred to as the "Temple of the Sun" by Neoclassical visitors, who saw it as the best-preserved Roman temple in the world – it is surrounded by forty-two columns nearly 20 meters in height). Thus three Eastern deities were worshipped in Roman guise: thundering Jove, the god of storms, stood in for Baal-Hadad, Venus for 'Ashtart and Bacchus for Anatolian Dionysus.

Baalbek is home to the annual Baalbeck International Festival. The town is about 85 km (53 mi) northeast of Beirut and about 75 km (47 mi) north of Damascus.

You can visit Baalbeck in a onday trip from Beirut, passing by Zahlé Town and eating near the Berdawni river, and finishing the Tour at the other archeological treasure in the Bekaa Valley, Aanjar.

For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BaalbeckLess

The drive from Beirut is about 2 to 2,5 hours. The history and stories behind the ruins are very interesting.  It is considered an outstanding archaeological and artistic site of Imperial Roman Architecture and was inscribed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.These ruins have two of the largest and best Roman Temples, the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter. There is also the Temple Venus, ‘’the Love Goddess’’. It is recommendable to take a tour guide, as you will understand so much more.

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