Baalabak/Baalbak/Baalbeck, the Roman Heliopolis, Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. Ba'albeck is home to the largest and best preserved Roman temples ever built. Towering high above the Beqa’a plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshipped here – the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury – were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design. Ba’albeck is located on two main historic trade routes: one between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior and the other between northern Syria and northern Palestine. Today, the city, 85 kilometers from Beirut, is an important administrative and economic center in the northern Beqaa/Bekaa Valley.
Ads
Over the centuries, Ba’albeck’s monuments suffered from theft, war and earthquakes, and were obscured by medieval fortifications and additions. But even in ruin the site attracted the admiration of visitors, and its historical importance was recognized. Fortunately, the modern visitor can see the site in something close to its original form, thanks to work in the past hundred years by German, French and Lebanese archaeologists.
While the Baalabak is known primarily in the west as the site of the famous Roman ruins, in the Middle East the ruins are called "The Castle". The ruins were suitably fortified during the moslem conquests and Baalbak became the great fortified town at the head of the Beqaa Valley where it borders on to the valley of the Orontes river in Syria. Previous to its more recent western romantic appeal, especially nurtured by the 19th century British on the extended 'Grand Tour' it was fought over frequently and decisively during the Crusades.
"Baalabak/Baalbak/Baalbeck, the Roman Heliopolis, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee", UNESCO reported in making Baalbek a World Heritage Site in 1984. When the Committee inscribed the site, it expressed the wish that the protected area include the entire town within the Arab walls, as well as the south-western extramural quarter between Bastan-al-Khan, the Roman site and the Mameluk mosque of Ras-al-Ain. Lebanon's representative gave assurances that the Committee's wish would be honored.
Ba’albeck’s temples were built on an ancient tell that goes back at least to the end of the 3rd millennium B.C. Little is known about the site during this period, but there is evidence that in the course of the 1st millennium B.C. an enclosed court was built on the ancient tell. An altar was set in the center of this court in the tradition of the biblical Semitic high places.
During the Hellenistic period (333-64 B.C.), the Greeks identified the god of Ba’albeck with the Sun God, and the city was called Heliopolis, or “City of the Sun.” At this time the ancient enclosed court was enlarged, and a podium was erected on its western side to support a temple of classical form. Although the temple was never built, some huge structures from this Hellenistic project can still be seen. It was over the ancient court that the Romans placed the present Great Court of the Temple of Jupiter.
The Temple of Jupiter was begun in the last quarter of the 1st century B.C. and was nearing completion in the final years of Nero’s reign (37-68 A.D.). The Great Court Complex of the Temple of Jupiter, with its porticoes, exedrae, altars and basins, was built in the 2nd century A.D. Construction of the so-called temple of Bacchus was also started about this time. The Propylaea and the Hexagonal Court of the Jupiter Temple were added in the 3rd century A.D. under the Severan Dynasty (193-235 A.D.), and work was presumably completed in the mid-3rd century. The small, circular structure known as the Temple of Venus was probably finished at this time as well.
When Christianity was declared an official religion of the Roman Empire in 313 A.D., Emperor Constantine officially closed the Ba’albeck temples. At the end of the 4th century A.D., Byzantine Emperor Theodosius tore down the altars of Jupiter’s Great Court and built a basilica using the temple’s stones and architectural elements. The remnants of the three apses of this basilica, originally oriented to the west, can still be seen in the upper part of the stairway of the Temple of Jupiter.
After the Arab Conquest in 636 A.D., the temples were transformed into a fortress, or qala’a, a term still applied to the Acropolis today. During the next centuries, Ba’albeck fell successively to the Umayyad, Abbasid, Toulounid, Fatimid and Ayyoubid dynasties. Sacked by the Mongols around 1260, Ba’albeck later enjoyed a period of calm and prosperity under Mamluke rule.
The temple complex of Ba’albeck is made up of the Jupiter Temple and the Bacchus Temple adjacent to it. A short distance away is the circular structure known as the Temple of Venus. Only part of the staircase remains of a fourth temple dedicated to Mercury, on Sheikh Abdallah hill.
The Great Temple or Jupiter Temple: The first view the visitor has of Ba’albeck is the six Corinthian columns of the Great Temple, thrusting 22 meters into the skyline. Built on a podium seven meters above the Court, these six columns and the entablature on top give an idea of the vast scale of the original structure. The complex of the Great Temple has four sections: the monumental entrance or Propylaea, the Hexagonal Court, the Great Court and finally the Temple itself, where the six famous columns stand.
The Little Temple or the so-called Temple of Bacchus: Next to the Jupiter complex is a separate building known as the Temple of Bacchus. Constructed during the first half of the 2nd century A.D., it has been remarkably well preserved.
The Round Temple or the so-called Temple of Venus: The small, circular temple southeast of the acropolis was built in the 3rd century A.D. Its design and size, as well as its orientation towards the Great Temple, set it apart from the other Ba’albeck temples. There are a number of other Roman remains and Islamic sites to visit in Ba’albeck and its immediate neighborhood.
The Great Mosque: In front of the Acropolis entrance, this mosque dates from the 7th-8th centuries of the Umayyad period. Built on what was the site of the Roman forum and later a Byzantine church dedicated to St. John, the mosque re-uses granite and limestone columns.
Public buildings: At Boustan Al- Khan, south of the temples, are important remains of public baths, a market, and probably a bouleuterion, or assembly place.
Ras Al-Ain: This ancient spring, now incorporated into modern Ba’albeck, has been a source of water since antiquity. There are traces of a Roman shrine and nympheum, as well as the remains of a Mamluke mosque built in 1277.
Quarries: At the southern entrance of town is a quarry where the stones used in the temples were cut. A huge block, considered the largest hewn stone in the world, still sits where it was cut almost 2,000 years ago. Called the “Stone of the Pregnant Woman,” it is 21.5m x 4.8m x 4.2m in size and weighs an estimated 1,000 tons.
Qoubbat Al-Amjad: On Sheikh Abdallah Hill are the remains of the Zawiya-Mosque and tomb of Sheikh ‘Abdallah al-Younini, built under the rule of Al-Amjad, grandnephew of Saladin and governor of Ba’albeck between 1182 and 1230. It was constructed of stones from the nearby Temple of Mercury.
City Gate: Northwest of the Acropolis, near the army barracks, lie the remains of a Roman city gate, part of the fortifications that once surrounded the city.
Qoubbat As-Sa’adin: Not far from the City Gate is a two-room mausoleum built in 1409, which served as a burial place for the Mamluke governors of Ba’albeck.
Qoubbat Douris: At the southern entrance of the town is an octagonal structure composed of eight Roman granite columns. Built during the 13th century, it was originally covered with a cupola and held an Ayyoubid tomb.
City and District of Baalabak/Baalbak/Baalbeck, Beqaa/Bekaa Valley, Beqaa Governorate
Distance from Beirut: 85km
N34 0 25.452 E36 12 17.784
Altitude: 1,200m
Tourist Contact Person: Asaad Zgheib, Municipality
Contact Person: Asaad Zgheib, Municipality
Operation Season: Year Round
Phone: +961-(0)8- 800252
http://www.lebanon-tourism.gov.lb/SiteDetails.aspx?Sites=4