Day Trip - Beirut, Lebanon

A bunch of us took a day trip to Beirut, Lebanon. During the trip, we saw the site where the bomb exploded on February 14th 2005, killing the Lebanon’s Ex-Prime Minister. The explosion was massive, killing 30 people. The site is still under international investigation. Many of the cars surrounding the explosion site still remained in the exact same spot as on the day of explosion...shattered windows where covered with plastic to protect the interior of the cars from the rain. Prior to making are way back to Damascus we had a quick cheese burger and fries at the Hard Rock Café, Beirut. The café was very empty, the bombings has scared off most of the tourist industry, once again.

The pictured posted is a random village we passed on the way to Beirut. Despite the bombings, Lebanon is truly a beautiful country.

Bacchus Temple – Exterior - Baalbek, Lebanon

Baalbek, the "Sun City" of the ancient world, it's the most impressive ancient site in Lebanon and arguably, the most impressive Roman site in the Middle East. Its temples, built on an extravagant scale that outshone anything in Rome, enjoyed a reputation as one of the wonders of the world. Baalbek was originally constructed in the 1st century C.E. and when there was no construction machinery, just man and animal power.

Six Remaining Pillars of the Jupiter Temple - Baalbek, Lebanon

Bacchus Temple - Interior - Baalbek, Lebanon

Hazel and Dawn - Baalbek, Lebanon

Pictured are Hazel and Dawn standing by one of the huge pillars. As you can see the pillars are massive in size. I was sleeping in the van, while we approached Baalbek and when I awoke a saw site, it was truly amazing. While we can only imagine from the replications of what the site looked like in it’s during its prime, the sight had to be truly spectacular. It been the best Roman ruins site we seen so far (in my opinion).