Baalbek
Heliopolis: the roman temples of Baalbeck, located in the Bekaa valley 85 kilometers away from Beirut. It makes up the largest and best preserved corpus of roman architecture left around. The acropolis occupies the top of an artificial hill built up of different layers of habitation. Its temples, dedicated to Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus, were constructed between the first and the third centuries A.D.
In the “Jupiter temple”, six of the 54 giant columns that originally surrounded the sanctuary, survived till today. The temple has an impressive podium and a vast rectangular courtyard where sacrifices were carried out. The sanctuary is reached through a propylaea (monumental entrance) and hexagonal forecourt.
The town of Baalbeck has major remains from Islamic times including the grand Mosque, built by the Ommayadds with material borrowed from ancient monuments, and another mosque built in Mamluke times near the spring of Ras El–Ain.
FREE PICK-UPS:
Pick ups are provided free of charge from all hotels in Beirut for bookings received up to 20:00 of the day preceding the tour. Guests are requested to be at the reception desk of their hotel starting 06:45. Drivers may pass any time between 06:30 and 06:45. They are instructed not to wait. Guests missing their pick-up will have to come to our office at 07:00 a.m. at their own expense.
Important Notes
The company is not responsible for forgotten items on the daily tours. Lost and found items will be kept at Nakhal offices for collection for a maximum of 30 days.