Baalbek and the trilithon

The Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek stands on a platform built from some of the largest worked stones ever moved by anybody. The trilithon blocks in the retaining wall are enormous, and in the quarry down the road lies the Stone of the Pregnant Woman and, found later, a sixth larger block still attached to bedrock: roughly 19.6 by 6 by 5.5 metres and an estimated 1,650 tonnes, reckoned the biggest ancient cut block in the world. It was never moved, which tells you where the limit was. The present Temple of Jupiter went up in the mid first century AD and was probably finished around AD 60, replacing an earlier temple on the same foundation. UNESCO World Heritage since 1984, described as one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture. Beqaa Valley, 67 km northeast of Beirut. Check your government’s travel advice for Lebanon before planning anything.