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Baalbek

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Baalbek , ancient city, now in Lebanon, 35 mi (56 km) NW of Damascus, in the Al Biqa (Bekaa) valley. Originally it was probably devoted to the worship of Baal or Bel, the Phoenician sun god, although no traces of an early Phoenician settlement have survived. The Greeks called the city Heliopolis [city of the sun]. It became very prominent in Roman days and was made a separate colony by Augustus. Both Greek and Roman architects employed their genius on Baalbek's buildings. Among the most imposing Roman remains are the temple of Bacchus and the temple of Jupiter. The city was sacked by invaders and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1759.

In the mid-1970s the modern town of Baalbek, which borders the ruins of the ancient city, became a stronghold of Palestinian and Syrian forces, changing hands several times during Lebanon's 15-year civil war. Tourism, the city's staple industry, was interrupted until the 1990s. Baalbek has since become a stronghold of the Lebanese Hezbollah political party and its militia, and was subjected to Israeli air attacks during the 2006 fighting.

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Baalbek

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Baalbek (Ba᾽labakk), Lebanon Heliopolis The area having been taken by the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty during the 4th century bc, the city was given the Greek name Heliopolis ‘City of the Sun’ from hēlios ‘sun’ and polis. It fell to the Romans in 64 bc and to the Arabs in 637. Thereafter it was under Syrian control until being included in the French mandate for Lebanon after the First World War. The name may mean the ‘City of Baal’ from bakk ‘city’; Baal was worshipped as a god of fertility with the title ‘Lord of the Earth’.

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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Baalbek." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Baalbek." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Baalbek.html

JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Baalbek." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O209-Baalbek.html

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Baalbek

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Baalbek Town in the Bekaa Valley, e Lebanon. An early Phoenician settlement, the Greeks occupied the site in 323 bc, and renamed it Heliopolis. The Romans colonized it in the 1st century bc. Baalbek is noted for its Greek and Roman remains, especially the Temple of Jupiter. Pop. (2002 est.) 29,000.

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Baalbek

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Baalbek a town in eastern Lebanon, site of the ancient city of Heliopolis. Its principal monuments date from the Roman period.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baalbek." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baalbek." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Baalbek.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Baalbek." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Baalbek.html

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Baalbek

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Baalbek •beck, bedeck, check, cheque, Chiang Kai-shek, crosscheck, Czech, deck, dreck, exec, fleck, heck, hitech, keck, lek, neck, peck, Québec, rec, reck, sec, sneck, spec, speck, spot-check, tec, tech, Toulouse-Lautrec, trek, wreck •Hayek • Baalbek • pinchbeck •Steinbeck • Warbeck •Brubeck, Lübeck •Uzbek • Beiderbecke • hacek •soundcheck • Dubcek • foredeck •sundeck • afterdeck • quarterdeck •Dalek, Palekh •fartlek • Chichimec • Olmec • redneck •breakneck • V-neck • bottleneck •swan-neck • roughneck • rubberneck •halterneck • leatherneck • turtleneck •henpeck • kopek • shipwreck • Hasek •Aztec • Mixtec • Toltec • infotech •discothèque • Zapotec

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Baalbek: Im bann romischer monumentalarchitektur.(Review) Magazine article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 7/1/2001
	Lebanon prequalifies, contractors for Baalbek sewer tender.(Brief Article) Magazine article from: The Middle East; 2/1/2003
	Lebanon Pleas for Safety of Ancient Roman Ruins Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 8/2/2006