Baalbek
بعلبك
City in Damascus's Sanir district holding the temple of Baal — the Baal of the Qur'anic verse — its two mighty shrines of carved stone between Lebanon and Sanir mountains unmatched even in wood-carving for their columns and vaults 1.
At a glance
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
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Overview
Baalbek: a city among the districts of Damascus, in the province of Sanir. al-Mas'udi reports that in it is the house of Ba'l, the idol mentioned in the Qur'an. 2
The temple
al-Mas'udi reports that the Greeks chose for this temple a piece of land between Mount Lebanon and Mount Sanir, and made it a place for idols. There are two great buildings, one older than the other. In them are wonderful carvings cut in the stone, together with the height of their structure, the greatness of their stones and the length of their columns. 2
In the books of antiquities
Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari counted "the playground of Baalbek" among the famous monuments, from the remains of the buildings of the ancients in al-Sham. 3
Sources
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p. 554-555
- Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi, p.554
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), p.231
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Baalbek”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/baalbek/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.