Tour with Bacchus, the God of wine


One of the Baalbek ’s famous temples in the spectacular Roman ruins were one of the homes of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. It has been remarkably well preserved, and his legacy lives on in a wide variety of vineyards in the region, which have put Lebanon firmly on the wine-lovers’ map. Baalbeck, is one of the “homes� of Bacchus, the celebrated Roman god of wine. There, one can find his huge temple with its famous dangling lintel. Archaeologists believe that here, local fertility cults came to idolize Bacchus and introduced wine and possibly opiates into their rituals, a theory bolstered by the grape and poppy carvings that adorn the temple’s main doorway, and other carved Bacchic scenes.

The legacy of Bacchus is however alive and kicking in the wineries and vineyards of the Bekaa. Many tourists who come to see Baalbek may not be aware or only have the faintest notion that this is still the centre of Lebanon ’s wine country, where a 6,000-year-old vinicultural tradition still thrives. Today there are eight Bekaa vineyards where visitors are welcome.

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Trip itinerary:

Day 1 :
- Pick up from Beirut Airport
- Visit the Downtown
- Lunch Break
- Visit Mouawad Private Museum
- Transfer to the hotel

Day 2 :
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Departure to the Bekaa
- Visit of Baalbek Roman temples
- Visit of Domaine Wardy
- Lunch Break
- Visit of Chateau Ksara
- Domaine des Tourelles
- Transfer to the hotel

Day 3 :
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Visit of Massaya
- Continue to Mashghara, Qab Elias and visit Clos St Thomas
- Leaving Qab Elias, head south past the beautiful swamps at Amiq
- Lunch break
- Visit the Château Kefraya
- After lunch, take a drive further south, taking in Kefraya’s 300ha of vineyards and head down to Lake Qaroun for a sunset stroll around the shore.
- Transfer to Beirut

Day 4 :
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Departure to Ghazir
- Visit of Château Musar
- Lunch Break
- Visit of Jeita Grotto
- Transfer back to Beirut or Airport