Baalbek, the ‘Sun City’ of the ancient world, is the most impressive ancient site in Lebanon. It is arguably the most important Roman site in the Middle East. It once enjoyed a reputation as one of the wonders of the world and mystics still attribute special powers to the courtyard complex. Its temples were built on an extravagant scale on the site of earlier temples. Baalbek grew a culture around it which drew people from far and wide for religious festivals.

The main town in the Kadisha Valley is Bcharre, a red-roofed town perched on the side of the valley and dominated by three large churches. These were built and subsequently rebuilt by the leading families of the town in ever more imposing styles and the largest, St Saba Church,

Beirut is the vibrant, battered capital city of Lebanon. Once the Paris of the Middle East and a magnet for the jet set from both east and west, it is now in a recovery phase after the terrible damage inflicted during the long civil war.

In the Middle Ages Lebanon was divided into fiefs, each ruled by an emir. By the early 17th century Fakhr ad-Din had extended his power throughout the territory, which roughly corresponds to modern Lebanon, and united the small fiefdoms into one. His first capital was at nearby Baaqline, but because of water shortages, he moved to Deir al_Qamar which is fed by numerous springs. It is a Maronite village of great charm, sitting 850m above sea level and overlooking the valley, with Beiteddine visible in the back-ground.

It would be a pity to visit Nahr al-Kalb and not see the Jeita Grotto (TL (09)

220840/1/2/3), which is a stunning series of caves with stalagmites in
profusion. The road to the caves is the first turning on the right past Nahr al-

Kalb if you are facing north

About 3km beyond Batroun off the Tripoli highway is this fairytale castle which you should not miss. It is visible from the highway and there is a short approach road leading to the east. Mousalayha is a legacy of Lebanon’s Ayyubid princes of the 16^th century. It used to defend the only land route between Beirut and Tripoli.

If there is one group in their history to whom the Lebanese look with pride and who have been used to construct a Lebanese identity, it is the Phoenicians who intrigue the modern Lebanese with their penchant for innovation, enterprise and intellectual endeavor.

History