Liban/Patrimoine: Le Grand Temple Romain de Faqra ou temple de Jupiter

Ruins of the Roman temple of Faqra. Dedicated to the king of the gods, Jupiter, this temple integrated into local stones is located on the road linking Beirut to Baalbeck, whose architecture it recalls. This is the Roman temple located at the highest attitude. The outer wall of the sanctuary is about 75m long and 35m wide. To the east, the facade is decorated with pilasters and bordered by a portico 6m deep. A large pole arranged in the middle of the peribolus provides access to the interior of the sanctuary. Inside the sanctuary is divided into two parts: first a square paved courtyard bordered on three sides by porticoes which by stairs then leads to an upper terrace where the temple is located. The temple does not rest on a real podium but on a massive foundation. Its walls are built in double apparatus, with blocks of ocher sandstone. The prostyle is made up of blocks carved out of gray limestone. Dating The construction of the sanctuary is dated to the 1st c. apr. based on the decoration of the porticoes and on the architectural characteristics of the temple (deep cella, absence of a podium. However, it is possible that the development of the sanctuary continued over a long period. Attribution The sanctuary is attributed to the Jupiter of Heliopolis, the current Baalbeck. It is based on the dedication of a small altar to Zeus of Heliopolis, discovered in the ruins of the cella. In reality no conclusion is assured either by this inscription , nor by the texts read on the architraves of the porticoes of the courtyard or the temple. Source text: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qalaat_Faqra Photo credit: François el Bacha. All rights reserved. Visit my blog: http ://larabio.com

Le Grand Temple de Jupiter situé à Faqra date de l’époque romaine. Il possède plusieurs caractéristiques uniques dont celle du plus haut temple romain jamais construit, se trouvant à 1 500 mètres d’attitude environ. Ce sanctuaire est également partiellement construit en utilisant les reliefs naturelles de rochers qui le bordent.