Baalbeck and Anjar

I realize that I have not written in a week, and I apologize. Homework has kept me very busy in the evenings leaving little time for writing or doing much more than replying to emails. To make up for it, I promise to post several pictures from our visit to Baalbeck and Anjar in the Bekaa Valley.

First, a little geography lesson: Lebanon can be roughly divided into four parallel zones - the seacoast, the Lebanon Mountains, the Bekaa Valley, and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The mountains are high enough that in the winter you can ski in Lebanon, and also make a nice weekend getaway for Beirutis. The Bekaa Valley is the agricultural region of the country, and to be honest the landscape reminded me a lot of eastern Montana.
The Bekaa has been an important agricultural center since ancient times, and some of the most impressive Roman ruins have been uncovered there, most importantly the temple site at Baalbeck. As the name suggests, the sight was originally a temple center for the worship of Baal by the Phoenicians. The original worship of Baal included such delightful practices as human and animal sacrifice and sacred prostitution (oh gee, don't you miss the good old days?). As the Greeks and Roman influence moved into the region, the site became a center of worship for Dionysius and Bacchus. By this time the human sacrifice part had been pushed aside, though the drinking and the sacred sex remained crucial to religious practice. The only people allowed to participate in these (ahem) holy activities were those who belonged to the cult of Dionysius/Bacchus - some of us wondered if the temple had bouncers similar to those at Studio 54 or something.

But enough about but enough about that stuff...on to the details of the site. The Romans began their construction at the temple site at around 60 B.C.E., and we know that the large Temple of Jupiter was nearing completion during the rein of Nero in 60 C.E. While Baalbeck had always been a religious center, the Romans chose to construct temples to their gods in order to solidify their influence in the region, essentially trying to "Romanize" the area that was so crucial to trade and agriculture. Many of the stones used in construction were quarried nearby. The site has suffered through numerous earthquakes, war, and the wear and tear of time. However, it has remained in remarkable condition, and only minimal reconstructive work has occured. The first archeological work on the site was funded by the German empire in 1898, and continued under the French and finally the Lebanese. Currently it is under the control of the Lebanese tourism ministry.

This is a picture of the largest cut stone in the world (at least that is the claim). Stone this size were used around the perimeter of the temple complex, though how these stones were cut and moved is still unknown. According to legend, if women touch the stone it will increase their furtility - I stayed as far away from it as I possibly could.
These columns mark the entrance to the temple site. The columns are actually made from granite quarried in Egypt and brought to this site.
These columns are what remains of the temple of Jupiter. Temple rivaled the Parthenon in size, and to give you some scale, the base of the columns stand at about 6 feet - I can't remember the exact demensions, but I would estimate that these columns are at least 3 stories tall.

Detail from inside the Temple of Jupiter. The small arches on the walls would have housed statues of deities.Every summer, the Baalbeck Festival brings international entertainers to the site. Workers were setting up the stage in front of the Temple of Bacchus on the day of our visit.


Temple of Bacchus from a different angle. Though it appears very large today, it would have been dwarfed by the other temples in the complex.

Now, my knowledge of early Islamic civilization is not very good, so I'm just going to say something very briefly about the Anjar site. If anyone reads this and wants to comment on the details of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties, please feel free. I'll try to write something later. The city of Anjar was established by the Umayyads between the 7th and 8th centuries. The city had approximately 600 shops as the Bekaa remained an important trade crossroads.


As the Umayyad dynasty fell to the Abbasids in Baghdad, the Umayyads destroyed the city to ensure that their enemies would not benefit from it. Modern archeologists have done some work to restore the city.