Baalbek is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 3,850 ft (1,170 m), situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed but monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, known as Heliopolis was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. It is located about 200 km east of Beirut. At present, Baalbek serves as the primary center of the Shia population of the Bekaa Valley and one of the main training camps for the Hizbullah forces.
