Sunday, April 18, 2021

Even more rewarding than Byblos was Baalbek.

From Trying to Please by John Julius Norwich.  Page 203. 

Even more rewarding than Byblos was Baalbek. This was nearly two hours drive from Beirut, but what a beautiful drive it was. One climbed out of the city on the Damascus road, crossed the Lebanon range and turned left into the broad plain of the Bekaa, which ran due north between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon through tawny hills that glowed purple in the sunset, until one saw a mile or two ahead the six giant columns that were all that remained of the Temple of Jupiter. Beside it was the Temple of Bacchus, roofless but in a far better state of preservation, with its glorious stone carvings still largely intact. These two buildings together, constituting what is unquestionably the most majestic Roman monument in the Middle East, drew us back to them again and again. Every summer they were the scene of a major artistic festival: we had the New York Philharmonic in the Temple of Jupiter, while the Temple of Bacchus saw a truly memorable performance of Antony and Cleopatra by the Old Vic.

 

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