Baalbek Roman Ruins

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Baalbek, Beirut, Lebanon

Description: The ruins at Baalbek has, among other things, the tallest columns in the world.

We drove to Baalbek from Beirut, a couple of hours worth of driving. In small-world fashion, as we slowed to pass through a little village Laura shouted from the back seat, "That's Miriam! Stop!" Sure enough, her friends Miriam and Alessio were stopped with their friends near a little shop. We pulled over -- they were also on their way to Baalbek! We joined their two-car caravan.

The drive to Baalbek is beautiful. Make sure you're not sleeping as you come over the mountains to the Bekaa Valley -- gorgeous.

You may have heard that it's not safe to go to Baalbek. We questioned it a bit ourselves, but Laura and Francis consulted their local friends (in the Arabic they've been studying for a year and a half!) who shrugged and told us to go in the daytime and get home before dark. Sure enough, there was no trouble, and it was certainly worth the trip.

We got there a little after noon and stopped for a falafel at a little cafe nearby. After that, we ventured into the ruins. Admission was about $9. We weren't planning on taking a guided tour, but Miriam and Alessio were getting one for them and their friends so we joined them on that. The deal was apparently that you don't pay the tour guide unless you enjoy the tour. Kinda weird. We paid him. I think it was about $20, but we had it split between about 11 people.

However, the tour was...okay. The information included a lot of numbers: how much the stones weighed, etc. The guide was a very nice Lebanese man who spoke choppy but perfectly understandable English. He would sometimes veer into strangely personal information, such as when the ruins were put on hold and we discussed his daughter's recent wedding (complete with the passed-around cell phone picture) and how the recent warring was political, not religious.

The tour took about an hour. There is a LOT to see. The museum is small and includes a lot of reading -- we kind of rushed through, mostly looking at pictures and choosing a few of the most interesting-sounding titles to read.

Go! Enjoy.Close

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Museum at the Ruins in Baalbek Photo - Baalbek Roman Ruins, Beirut, Lebanon

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Biggest Columns in the World

by Mandan Lynn

Smithwick, South Dakota

November 27, 2010

Best of IgoUgo The ruins at Baalbek has, among other things, the tallest columns in the world. We drove to Baalbek from Beirut, a couple of hours worth of driving. In small-world fashion, as we slowed to pass through a little village Laura shouted from the back ...Read more The ruins at Baalbek has, among other things, the tallest columns in the world.

We drove to Baalbek from Beirut, a couple of hours worth of driving. In small-world fashion, as we slowed to pass through a little village Laura shouted from the back seat, "That's Miriam! Stop!" Sure enough, her friends Miriam and Alessio were stopped with their friends near a little shop. We pulled over -- they were also on their way to Baalbek! We joined their two-car caravan.

The drive to Baalbek is beautiful. Make sure you're not sleeping as you come over the mountains to the Bekaa Valley -- gorgeous.

You may have heard that it's not safe to go to Baalbek. We questioned it a bit ourselves, but Laura and Francis consulted their local friends (in the Arabic they've been studying for a year and a half!) who shrugged and told us to go in the daytime and get home before dark. Sure enough, there was no trouble, and it was certainly worth the trip.

We got there a little after noon and stopped for a falafel at a little cafe nearby. After that, we ventured into the ruins. Admission was about $9. We weren't planning on taking a guided tour, but Miriam and Alessio were getting one for them and their friends so we joined them on that. The deal was apparently that you don't pay the tour guide unless you enjoy the tour. Kinda weird. We paid him. I think it was about $20, but we had it split between about 11 people.

However, the tour was...okay. The information included a lot of numbers: how much the stones weighed, etc. The guide was a very nice Lebanese man who spoke choppy but perfectly understandable English. He would sometimes veer into strangely personal information, such as when the ruins were put on hold and we discussed his daughter's recent wedding (complete with the passed-around cell phone picture) and how the recent warring was political, not religious.

The tour took about an hour. There is a LOT to see. The museum is small and includes a lot of reading -- we kind of rushed through, mostly looking at pictures and choosing a few of the most interesting-sounding titles to read.

Go! Enjoy. Close

From journal Getting Lebanoned

Baalbeck

by stappm

San Francisco, California

March 29, 2006

Best of IgoUgo A must-see, I believe it is the home of largest Roman temple in the world. And the site was much larger then I had anticipated (actually home to over three temples) and was a stop along an ancient trade route. Plus, in the summer they have a ...Read more

From journal Beirut, the Paris of the Middle East

Baalbek

by HobWahid

Damascus, Syria

February 3, 2005

Best of IgoUgo The Temples of Baalbek are the pride of Lebanon and are Lebanon’s most impressive, and noteworthy historical sights. In general, the sad story of Lebanon is that all of its historical sights pale in comparison to similar ones that can be found in ...Read more The Temples of Baalbek are the pride of Lebanon and are Lebanon’s most impressive, and noteworthy historical sights. In general, the sad story of Lebanon is that all of its historical sights pale in comparison to similar ones that can be found in nearby Turkey, Syria, or Jordan, but Baalbek is the one sight that Lebanon can claim as a unique and unlike anything else in the world.

Ture, the complex of Baalbek, consists of numerous Roman temples and monuments (nothing unique in that), but what makes the sight outstanding is not only the scale of the temples but their level of preservation. They, above all other Roman era temples, give you an absolute picture of how grand these temples, and the Romans who built them, actually were. Any visitor to Baalbek will stand in awe of the sheer size of the stones used to build these massive structures and will appreciate just how extraordinary they really are.

The area of Baalbek actually consists of a few different sights. The main one, and the only one you have to pay for, contains the Temple of Jupiter and the Temple of Bacchus. The temple of Jupiter is the larger and more singularly impressive of the two merely for its size. Even though it exists in a fairly ruined state today, it is easy to imagine just how grand the structure really was as you enter through the majestic propylon and the oddly octagonal-shaped antechamber. Once through to the main complex of the Temple of Jupiter, you will immediately be stuck by the shear size of the columns. They are some of the largest columns I have ever seen, only losing pout perhaps to the columns at the temple of Karnak in Luxor.
Continuing down from the Temple of Jupiter, you arrive at the smaller but much better preserved of the two temples, the Temple of Bacchus. Although it is smaller, the temple of Bacchus is perhaps more impressive because of its state of preservation. It takes very little imagination when looking up at the immaculately carved lintel or roof to picture just what this temple may have looked like almost 2,000 years ago. Entering into the inner chamber of the temple, the first thing you will see are signs that show you that this temple was a tourist attraction long before you ever arrived, because along the walls are engraved numerous names of travelers who passed this way in 1860 or earlier. On the western side, a plaque commemorating the visit of Kaiser Wilhelm further proves that people have been visiting this fantastic sight long before you.

Besides the temples, the main complex also contains a fantastic museum and the, now locked, Temple of Venus. For a bit of a change of pace, though, you must not forget to visit the old Roman quarry where you can see "the pregnant lady," a large stone that was carved but never moved. And I’ll leave it to you to figure out how they could have moved it… Close

From journal Lebanon: Playground of the Middle East

Baalbek Roman Ruins

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