Baalbek

Baalbek (BAHL-bek, BAY-əl-bek, Baʿlabakk, Lebanese: Bʿalbak, Syriac, Phoenician: 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤁𐤊, bʿlbk) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about 67 km (42 mi) northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and Christians; in 2017, there was also a large presence of Syrian refugees. Baalbek's history dates back at least 11,000 years. After Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE, he renamed it Heliopolis (Ἡ, Hēlioúpolis, lit. 'Sun City', Syriac, ʾĪliyōp̄ōlīs). The city flourished under Roman rule. However, it underwent transformations during the Christianization period and the subsequent rise of Islam following the Arab conquest in the 7th century. In later periods, the city was sacked by the Mongols and faced a series of earthquakes, resulting in a decline in importance during the Ottoman and modern periods. In the modern era, Baalbek is a tourist destination. It is known for the ruins of the Roman temple complex, which includes the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter, and was inscribed in 1984 as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Other tourist attractions are the Great Umayyad Mosque,

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).