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Friday 2 September 2011

Up the road from Baalbek


So, long time readers of BiB might well recall that I have a bit of a thing about Lebanon’s antiquities. Well, we all know about Baalbek, but I recently discovered something that, I’d imagine, all too few of us will have seen… all thanks to my parents’ wanderlust.

Just up the down the road from Baalbek lies a little village by the name of Niha. There’s absolutely nothing remarkable about the town, unless you happen to have a decent guidebook, or an out-of-date copy of The Lonely Planet. Suffice it to say, there’s something quite stunning about the village.

Niha: Point A
Drive through a labyrinthine set of back streets, aided occasionally by a brown tourist information sign, and you’ll come across two temples. Greek in origin if an inscription at the site is to be believed.

This is what you’ll be treated to:









A site few of us will have come across, I’m betting.

However, there’s more to come. A little bit of off-roading, aiming higher into the valley, through some apple orchards and vineyards and you’ll see something stunning. This is what awaits you in the hills above the town:








My only recommendations, drive something a little more robust than our rented Seat Ibiza, and don’t, as I did, go climbing in your sandals.