Teaching Adventures: Baalbek, Bekaa, Ruins, and Wine Tasting! October 17, 2013

Leaving Beirut for the Bekaa

As you leave Beirut you basically go straight up hill into the Mt. Lebanon Range. We left the historic Commodore Hotel and rode in a mini-van with 13, yes 13 people to the tour company headquarters. From there we boarded a tour bus and headed up the mountains. We passed a great view of Beirut and a bunch of covered tunnels that the Ottoman Empire used to protect their trains from the harsh winter snows over one-hundred years ago. There are still no trains In Lebanon today.

As you reach the top of the mountains you begin a descend into the Bekaa Vally. This was known as the bread basket to the Roman, Egyptian, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires due to its perfect soil, climate, and rivers. Almost any plant,vegetable or animal can grow there and it is amazing to see the brown sandy mountains contrast with the lush green fields and pastures.

We passed multiple military check points and at one a solider got on the bus, gave everyone a look, got off and waved us through. I have no idea what he was looking for but apparently a bus full of every different nationality, look, sex, and type of person on it was nothing he was going to concern himself with. He was carrying a large automatic weapon though. The area that we were traveling through is a Hezbollah stronghold complete with their own souvenir stands with bright yellow baseball hats and t-shirts.

The Largest Rock in the World

As we approach Baalbek we stopped at the largest rock in the world. Seriously look at the picture then look at the guy standing next to it. It is about 15-20 feet wide, 20-30 feet tall, and 80 feet long. This rock was quarried to possibly be placed on the alter of the original Baal temple but for some reason it was left about a half mile away from the site and just outside the quarry. It is rumored that the rock was too big, 1200 tons, or it had magical powers. Just to be safe we climbed up on it. Off to the ruins.

Baalbek

We arrived at Baalbek and obviously parked our huge bus for free a block down from the main entrance that was locked on one side but the gate was not installed on the other side and I shook the hand of a military person as I entered. All these things are very normal here.

Baalbek began as a temple to the Phoenician god Baal. Turned into a temple to the sun as the Greeks took over and changed the name to Heliopolis. Built over by the Romans as a temple to the gods Jupiter and Bacchus, and Venus. Then a Christian church was added on top of the temples, followed by a mosque, and finally a castle from the Ottoman Empire complete with a moat. So basically it is a layered cake of awesome ruins. You can still see the remaining pillars from the Jupiter Temple and the Bacchus Temple along with the arrow slits from the castle but the church and mosque have faded away.

Some of the best parts are:

- The lions heads from the top of the Jupiter Temple which spouted rain water either while it was raining or possibly stored up so they could turn it on during a festival.

- The trillions: 3 huge monolith stones that weigh 800 tons a piece that some how the Phoenicians placed perfectly next to each other as the base for the original temple that everyone else built upon. If you look up the ancient aliens tv show you can get more info on them.

- The Temple to Bacchus with the grapes, wheat stalks, and ... naked lady stone inlays that surround the entrance and the frieze of possibly Cleopatra that was part of the roof that has fallen down.

- The single pillar that has fallen and come to rest against the side of the temple.

Anjar

Next stop was Anjar, the crossroads of the Bekaa Valley. This ancient city was part of the Silk Road and was basically the half way point between 4 different cities. Beirut in the west, Demascus in the east, and two major cities in the north and south of the valley. The city is the shape of an x and the main roads have been renovated to include sewers which was the newest invention of the time period after the Muslim Umayyad Dynasty took over the area. The city was perfectly set up for goods and people to be transported, bought and sold, and then sent on their way. No ancient city is complete with out a bathhouse and the baths at Anjar are complete with tile mosaic floors and hot and cold bath houses and rooms. I kept thinking that one day in the future a city on Route 66 there will be a sign that says, "this is the place where Americans bought gas to fill their trucks and automobiles as they made there way across the country ..."

Ksara

After leaving the two ruins of Baalbek and Anjar we headed to another old institution of Lebanon ... The Ksara Winery. Ksara is by far the most common wine in Lebanon and also the oldest. We got a short tour of the caves of Ksara that were discovered by two brothers chasing a fox that had stole their chickens, then promptly turned into a wine celler because the temperature and humidity are stable. They were temporarily used as a home to WWI refugees but it has been pumping out cheap and delicious wine since the mid 1800's.

Overall a great day to end our 6 day weekend due to Eid al-Adha the Muslim holiday in which you celebrate the sacrifice that Abraham was willing to commit. It also signifies the time of year in which Muslims can complete the hajj, the once in a lifetime pilgrimage to Mecca.

I couldn't help think about the difference between here and Athens, where the parking lots were full at a huge cost, the entrance fee was big, the ruins were not as good, and the surrounding area was a bustling tourist trap. If the government and the surrounding areas were calm and secure and a cruise ship or two per day were running through the Beirut port this would have been a totally different afternoon. But regardless it was an amazing day, full of history, current events, civil war, civilizations, culture, wine, excitement, a little fear, good people, and a another great day in Beirut.