A Rush to Safeguard History and Heritage as a Close Call with Israeli Aerial Strikes Threatens Lebanon’s Ancient Baalbek Castle

 

Plumes of black and gray smoke billow behind the outline of Baalbek’s historic Temple of Jupiter like a foreboding shroud, disrupting the blue of the skyline with heavy, hazy air. That the ancient Roman ruin’s brush with destruction left it seemingly unscathed offers little reassurance, overshadowed by more pressing fears that the city and its cultural heritage won’t be so lucky next time.

 

Israeli airstrikes struck the region only 700 meters away from the world-renowned Baalbek Castle on October 6, igniting fears in the city residents and historians of damages to the thousands of years old structures, which were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. Baalbek is home to some of the most beautiful relics of ancient history dating back to the Phoenicians. Still, its Roman temples and fortress also stand as a testament to the city’s resilience in the face of adversity across thousands of years. Since the beginning of its construction in approximately 40 AD, the ancient structures have withstood some of the harshest of trials, both natural and man-made, undoubtedly suffering destruction over time yet standing today as one of the most well-preserved architecture of the Roman empire in the world.

 

Historians have debated the origin of Baalbek’s name, which may have drawn from the words “Baal” (the Semitic word for ‘lord’) and “nebek” (the Aramaic word for ‘source’) to altogether mean “Lord of the Source.” This was perhaps due to its role as a valued source of fresh water, an “epicenter of life and fertility” that received waters from the nearby Ain-Juj spring by the canal, according to Maghie Ghali in the Middle East Eye. Other interpretations approximate its name as the “City of Baal,” referring to the Phoenician sky-god Baal. Under Roman rule, the city was known by its Greek name Heliopolis, meaning the “City of the Sun,” as Baal became recognized as a solar divinity.

 

The Baalbek temple complex (often called the citadel or castle) is home to the ruins of one of the largest Roman religious sites, its limestone structures surrounding four temples within: the Temples of Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, and Bacchus. Tour guide Mohammad Wehbe suggests that nine temples are buried under the current city, which he believes were “demolished in the 4th century to build a cathedral with their stones,” as quoted by Christine Habib in Asharq al-Awsat. In 1920, the French Mandate decreed the Beqaa Valley as Lebanese territory, and since then, Baalbek’s rich history has attracted tourists to Lebanon for decades, its ancient ruins a national emblem. The city expanded its cultural presence in the world more recently by establishing the annual Baalbek International Festival in 1956, which has hosted famous icons and artists Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, Nina Simone, and numerous others.