Travel Tidbits
The highlight of a trip to the Levant was a day trip to Baalbek in Lebanon. The largest Roman temple ever discovered is on the site of the second-millennium Canaanite temple to Baal. This site compares to the Valley of the Kings in Karnak in Egypt, the palaces of St. Petersburg in Russia and Samarkand in Uzbekistan for incredible human construction. Petra in Jordan wasn’t impressive after seeing Baalbek. Much of its charm is derived from the natural setting rather than the man-made structures. — HARRIET HUGHES, Alexandria, VA