Baalbek
Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS
Roman Ruins and Hezbollah
The legendary Baalbek Festival is the brightest of Lebanon's cultural highlights. It takes place every summer in a wonderful and unique venue - the ancient Roman and Phoenician ruins, about two hours drive from Beirut. Baalbek is situated in the Bekaa Valley. Enclosed by two mountain ranges it boasts to be one of the most scenic spots of the country. Especially approaching along minor mountain roads, verdant and entwined with vines, it looks every bit like a beautiful postcard. Syria lies just across the mountains, and the further you get, the road becomes more and more deserted. Baalbek is a Hezbollah stronghold, in a way, a tangling point of Lebanon's problems, and the roadside is scattered with an increasing number of army checkpoints. Yellow and green flags fly all over the town and T-shirts with Hezbollah logo are offered as soon as you step out of a car.
Passing through the town, you'll see the impressive Roman ruins towering high on your left. It's a sight that brings about a truly surreal sensation - like an embodiment of the past and the present, two worlds, which would never intersect. There is no sign of European free spirit in Baalbek, so present in the streets of Beirut. Women are dressed strictly according to Muslim traditions, and Lebanese wine doesn't reach that far either. There is only one restaurant in Baalbek, which serves alcohol, but it turns out to be closed. In 1991, Time magazine writes: "Baalbek is the most schizoid of Lebanese towns, home to both ancient beauty and modern terror". There is still an odd strain in the air, or perhaps it's just an imagination.
Huge stone stairs lead up to the ruins, and that's just the beginning. A magnificence of the view exceeds all expectations. Phoenician temple, which initially stood here, was built as early as 2000 BC, and then Romans built their own one upon its ruins. The most renowned are two - Bahus and Jupiter temple. Three gigantic stone monoliths rest at the western side of the Jupiter temple, each weighing about 1000 metric tons, while the temple itself is based on a stone platform made of precisely cut stone blocks, 450 tons each. It's an unsolved mystery how exactly they have turned up there. Although it's only noon, the place is almost deserted, just two Arab tourists with a guide and another couple of travelers are walking around. Later, the setting sun will cast an orange hue over the majestic pillars, leaving us wondering what the place would look like during the Baalbek festival when the temples turn into the stages for performers. The first Baalbek festival was held in 1956 with participation of French surrealist Jean Cocteau. Among the guests were Robert Wilson, Mstislav Rostropovich, Miles Davis and many more celebrities. In the course of its history, Baalbek festival was interrupted twice - for ten years period, by the civil war, and it was cancelled also in 2006 and 2007, due to the political tension and the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Ghost Hotel
Overlooking the ancient ruins, Palmyra Hotel is yet another spooky historical relict of Baalbek. Opened in the beginning of the 20th century, the hotel was built on top of an ancient Roman theatre and before the civil war was one of the most legendary lodgings of Lebanon. Along its façade, part of the ancient foundation is still visible. The Palmyra guest list includes many prominent personalities with Jean Cocteau among them. He deemed Baalbek to be a particularly soothing spot for a poet's soul. He used to pay his room and bar bills with his original drawings once, still adorning the walls there. During WWI, the hotel was used by the German army, and during WWII it became the British army headquarters. General Charles de Gaulle has once slept there in the room number 30. There is no traditional reception and looking for an entrance can take a while, too. A small, age-bent old man dressed in black suit comes out to welcome you, seeming every bit like a relict himself. Wooden shutters are closed, and openwork balcony railings and the façade itself conveys a vague notion of its former grandeur, the same way as satin-covered sofas and chairs of La Belle Epoque. The whole place exudes some mustiness, or maybe it's just slipping into oblivion that gives this feel. We were suggested to stop by for a cup of tea, to get an impression of this place. It's been long since no one would recommend staying there for night. The hotel stirs up skin-crawling recollections of Coen brothers Barton Fink movie. It is easy to imagine Palmyra instead of Hotel Earl, featured in the film. On the other hand, spending a night in settings that surpass any film noir might be quite a challenge with freakish nightmares being part of the package. If so, Palmyra is just what you need! "The restaurant is right here," the old man gestures at dust-covered chairs. There is no sign of life anywhere, only an old writing-table looms in the adjacent room with a prewar telephone on it. This could be the right moment for it to start ringing...Few years ago a new extension to the historic Palmyra building was opened, but it looks as deserted as the old one - all the chairs in the garden are placed upside down, with legs sticking up into the air, and it turns out that few hours ago electricity has disappeared, too.
When leaving Baalbek, and Hezbollah territory along with it, we are stopped at the army check-point and asked to show our passports. It's the first time during our stay in Lebanon and feels somewhat like a border-crossing. What a peculiar relief when a guy at the checkpoint, buried under heaps of sand-bags, gestures that we may go.
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