When I was living in Lebanon and teaching at the American University of Beirut as the Whittlesey Chair of History and Archaeology, I was so taken with Baalbek that I wrote about one of my field-trips to the ancient site in The New York Times (Visiting Bacchus in Baalbek). Another aspect I loved about living in Lebanon was walking by numerous graffiti every day of legendary Lebanese singer Fairouz on my jaunts around Beirut. This week, those two loves of mine came together as one — when the ancient ruins of Baalbek were lit up with images of Fairouz to mark her 81st birthday and the 60th anniversary of her first ever live performance. Happy Birthday to the “Jewel of Lebanon.”
Exploring Baalbek (Photo: Emily O’Dell)
