Baalbek (Baalbeck)

Country :Lebanon
Coordinates: 34°0′25″N 36°12′14″E

Baalbek, also known as Baalbeck (Arabic: بعلبك‎ / ALA-LC: Baʻalbak, Lebanese pronunciation: [ˈbʕalbak]) is a town in theBeqaa Valley of Lebanon situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis (Greek: Ἡλιούπολις), was one of the largest sanctuaries in the empire. It is Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, and it can be counted among the wonders of theancient world, containing some of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins.

Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshiped there, the triad of Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad,Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design.

Taprobana

Taprobana is actually Ceylon, although it was sometimes confused with Sumatra on some maps. Taprobana, as it was called on most early maps, was an important post for trade between the east and the west, and was drawn too large on many maps because of its importance.  (See Ptolemy map)  But Marco Polo states: " It has a circumference of some 2400 miles.  And I assure you that it used to be bigger than this.  For it was once as much as 3500 miles, as appears in the mariners' charts of this sea.  But the north wind blows so strongly in these parts that is has submerged a great part of this island under the sea."

    Marco Polo also tells of the legend that Adam is buried on the top of a mountain in Taprobana.  Supposedly, at the top of the mountain there were teeth, hair and a bowl used by Adam (or possibly a Saint called Sakyamuni Burkhan) as well as his footprint in the rock.  This mountain is also known as Mount Serendib.  A stairway and chains have been hung on the mountain so that people on pilgrimage can climb to the top. When the Great Khan heard this story, he sent a mission there in 1284 to get the items, which they did. The teeth were described as maxillary teeth which were large, and the bowl was described as green porphyry.  Another traveler tells that the natives of Ceylon claimed that Eden was located only 40 miles from Adam's Peak.