Did the man who carved these words in stone realize that two millenia later a tourist from a part of the world that he never knew existed would be taking a photo of his handiwork with a digital camera and wondering what his life must have been like living as he had in ancient times?

These long since toppled columns of the Temple of Jupiter are in the far right corner of the Great Court. Each of them lying on their side is taller than I am. Part of the feeling you have when you are there is that the whole complex dwarfs you. It´s really that big.

Six massive columns are all that remain standing of the great Temple of Jupiter but they attest to its once magnificent splendor. The cornice stones use lion´s heads as ancient gargoyles spouting water from their roaring maws. Again, I couldn´t help but be caught up in the detailed work of the stones.

I was astounded by how ornate the Temple of Bacchus is. These designs and busts were carved in the ceiling stones and set atop these columns almost 2000 years ago.

Baalbek is by far the most impressive ancient site in Lebanon. Bearing the name of the Phoenician god Baal, the Greeks called it Heliopolis (the Sun City) and when the Romans arrived they made it a major worship center for the god Jupiter. Its temples were built on such an extravagant scale that in their day they were reputed to be one of the wonders of the world. The Temple of Bacchus pictured here was known in Roman times as the "small temple".

Most of what you see at the archaeological sites today are remnants of the Greek, Roman, or Byzantine periods. This is a picture of the pedestrian road which was originally roofed to provide shade from the Mediterranean sun. In the background you will notice the remains of a U-shaped hippodrome that was built for chariot racing in the 2nd century A.D. It was one of the biggest of its kind and could hold more than 20,000 cheering spectators. That should give you some idea of how large and influential the city must have been.

Tyre is one of the biblical cities along the coast of Lebanon. Herodotus dates it to approximately 2750 B.C. It has certainly been a witness to the ebb and flow of civilizations being ruled by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, Greeks, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks and Ottomans. Mentioned in the book of Joshua as "the strong city", it was at its height during the time of David.

And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.

2 Samuel 5:11