The Odeon
Within
walking distance of the temples of Baalbeck and the Omayaad Mosque is the
Odeon. This site contains civil buildings, used for carrying out the functions
of government. In fact, not too much is definitively known about the Odeon,
and the ruins as they are shown here are a reconstruction by archeologists.
Not everyone is in agreement as to whether or not this is what it looked
like originally. An odeon, from which the site gets its name, is a Roman
architectural term for a theater enclosure, also used as a public meeting
place. This was clearly a part of this ruin's function. Much like the keystone
in the archway to the Temple of Bacchus, the uncompleted arch in the center
of the Odeon (the picture to the right) is a testament both to the wear
and tear the ruins have withstood, but also to their resiliency. Set against
the Chouf Mountains, it is another beautiful view in Lebanon's Bekka Valley.
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