What is "baalbek"

Baalbek , properly Baʿalbek and also known as Balbec, Baalbec or Baalbeck, is a town in the Anti-Lebanon foothills east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut and about north of Damascus. It has a population of approximately 82,608, mostly Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and a minority of Christians. It is reckoned a stronghold of the Hezbollah movement. It is home to the annual Baalbeck International Festival.

In Greek and Roman antiquity, it was known as Heliopolis. It still possesses some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Lebanon, including one of the largest temples of the empire. The gods that were worshipped there ( Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus) were equivalents of the Canaanite deities Hadad, Atargatis, and another young male fertility god. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, as they vary from the classic Roman design.