This morning I took my third trip to Baalbek … yes, it is that good … it is the most impressive Roman ruins I’ve been to (not that I’ve been to that many). The Lonely Planet says it outshines any of the Temples built in Rome itself. This has always been a poor and conservative area and the Hezbollah have made inroads into the people’s hearts by providing what the government hasn’t … schools, water, medical etc. Like the Islamist party in Yemen. A bit like the Salvation Army.
What’s different this time is that the Hezbollah have setup an information centre right at the entrance to the Baalbek ruins. I took a peek and there were no-holds-barred pictures of body parts and charred bodies from Israeli attacks. Local vendors are now also selling Hezbollah T-shirts. Not a good shirt for going through airport security or customs on the way home.
By the way, the thing that was conspicuously absent on this excursion were Syrian soldiers. The Syrian withdrawal after my second trip has left the intercity roads now staffed by Lebanese soldiers.
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- This is what Baalbek used to look like.
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- Detail of some of the construction.
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- Temple of Jupiter with little me at the base.
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- Detail of some of the construction.
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- This was the inside of the Temple of Bacchus.
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- Temple of Bacchus with seating for the Baalbek festival.
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- Temple of Bacchus now.
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- The outside of the Temple of Bacchus.
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- Depiction of the success against the Israel … their depiction anyway.
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- I take that to be a promise than a threat. This is in the context of the Israeli attack a few years back.
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- Advert on ATM at Bank Audi.
