What is Baalbek?
[[File:Flickr - …trialsanderrors - Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek, Holy Land, ca. 1895.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Heliopolis temple in 1895]] '''Baalbek'''{{efn|Also spelled '''Ba'labek''',{{sfnp|''Cook's''|1876}} '''Balbec''',{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} '''Baalbec'''{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} and '''Baalbeck'''.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ar:إتحاد بلديات غربي بعلبك |language=ar |trans-title=West Baalbeck Municipalities Union |url=http://www.west-baalbeck.org/ |date=2013 |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723131204/http://www.west-baalbeck.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|l|b|ɛ|k|,_|ˈ|b|eɪ|ə|l|b|ɛ|k}};<ref> * {{cite web |last=Olausson |first=Lena |title=How to Say: Baalbek |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/08/how_to_say_baalbek.html |date=2 August 2006 |access-date=8 September 2015 |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London }} *{{cite encyclopedia |title=Baalbek |encyclopedia=Merriam–Webster |year=2020 |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Baalbek }} *{{cite encyclopedia |title=Baalbek |encyclopedia=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |year=2020 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Baalbek }}</ref> {{lang-ar|بَعْلَبَكّ|Baʿlabakk}}; [[Syriac language|Syriac-Aramaic]]: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the [[Litani River]] in [[Lebanon]]'s [[Beqaa Valley]]. It is about {{convert|67|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of [[Beirut]]. It is the capital of [[Baalbek-Hermel Governorate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localiban.org/rubrique894.html |title=Mohafazah de Baalbek-Hermel |publisher=Localiban |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221111459/http://www.localiban.org/rubrique894.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1998, Baalbek had a population of 82,608, mostly [[Shi'a Islam in Lebanon|Shia Muslims]], followed by [[Sunni Islam in Lebanon|Sunni Muslims]] and [[Christianity in Lebano