Baalbek

Baalbek:  
Redefining AWEsome.

Marguerite and Carolyn; Temple of Bacchus in the background.

  

Ruins of Baalbek

We reached Baalbek via private car and driver last Saturday.  7 passengers paid 30,000LL or ($20) each. Lucy's 3 friends from Abu Dabi, and Marguerite from Seattle, were all here the same weekend! 3 hours drive, all of 50 miles, and we arrived.  I had problem with "hang jaw" at the sight of magnificent columns reaching high, a temple rising above giant walls of stone. Unlike other ruins I've seen, these rise above the surrounding town; spectacular.  Once we paid to get in the place was ours!  No plexiglass, no "Stay on the path," no handrails, no "Keep out" or "Hands off" signs; just me, a camera, and curiosity running wild.  

I couldn't stop talking to myself: "Oh My God!" "Oh My God"...  I have never been in proximity to so much art littering the ground; intricate patterns and bas relief in marble, busted up and lying about. I could walk up to anything and touch it, sit on it, and just imagine what it must have been like two to five thousand years ago.  How did they get these pieces of rock here? and the pink granite columns?  These pink columns came from Egypt on boats.  They floated them in on barges down the river.  There were lots of slaves to do the work, plus elephants.  What a construction site it must have been.

From the Temple of Bacchus, a look back to the columns
where Marguerite and I were standing
 in the first photo.

The columns were massive, and so tall!  What didn't stay up was all over the ground.  Everybody has had a hand in this site; Egyptians, Romans, Phoenicians, Turks, and there are even relics of neolithic origin; 5000 years old.  When the Turks came 500 years ago, they picked up the litter on the ground and built a great walled fortress, complete with arrow slits.  This set of columns has remained standing; a Roman tribute to Jupiter, while most have crashed to the ground.  You understand that it's not an entirely safe place to wander... but this is Lebanon! There are no limits for the visitor; everything you see is accessible.  The grounds are immense, and I couldn't help thinking how fun it would be for a game of hide and seek! 

Truly AWEsome!