The Baalbeck International Festival, held annually in July and August, is one of the most distinctive cultural events in the Middle East. Concerts, dance performances, and theatrical productions take place in the courtyard of the Roman temples — with the columns of the Temple of Jupiter as a backdrop and the Bekaa Valley sky above. The scale and drama of the setting is unlike anything available to performers in a conventional venue.
The festival was founded in 1956 and has hosted Ella Fitzgerald, Rudolf Nureyev, Herbert von Karajan, Miles Davis, and Fairuz (whose performances here are legendary in the Arab world). Programming mixes international classical music, jazz, and world music with Arab artists. It was suspended during Lebanon's civil war and during periods of regional instability but has continued to return.
Tickets should be booked well in advance for popular performances. The atmosphere on a good evening — an orchestra playing under the stars with ancient stone all around — is extraordinary, and worth planning a visit around if the timing works.