Towering high over the plains of the Bekaa Valley, the sheer scale and monumental proportions of the UNESCO listed ruins at Baalbeck never cease to impress. The temples are considered to be one of the most important Roman sites in the world and were dedicated to the triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. Following conquest by Alexander the Great, Baalbeck was renamed Heliopolis (City of the Sun) and quickly grew into on one the most important settlements in the region. The Romans founded an important military colony here and built the gargantuan temples with an eye to impressing the local population of the might of Imperial Rome, and in an attempt to counter the rising popularity of Christianity. The site is entered via a monumental stairway, and then proceeds through the Propylaea and two impressive marble courtyards to the Temple of Jupiter – one of the largest temples ever built. This immense structure consisted of a cella in which the cult image of Jupiter Heliopolitanus was housed and was surrounded by a portico featuring 54 massive external columns. Six of these giants still stand. They are the largest Roman columns in the world, measuring over 22 metres high with a girth of 2.2 metres. To the south, the so called Temple of Bacchus is one of the most beautifully decorated Roman temples. The building is in a good state of preservation and while small in comparison to the temple of Jupiter, is still larger than the Parthenon in Athens. A further remarkable and well-preserved structure is the Round Temple, which is thought to have been dedicated to the goddess Fortuna, and was later converted into a church by the Byzantines. Baalbeck’s quarries lie to the south of the acropolis and contain one of the largest hand hewn stones ever quarried. Called the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, it is 21.5 metres x 4.2 metres in sizes and weighs an estimated 1,000 tonnes!