http://www.bbc.co.uk/ For the first time in two years, there is music among the soaring columns of one of the Middle East's best-preserved Roman sites.
The Baalbek International Festival, which first started in the 1950s and reopened after the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war, is one of Lebanon's cultural highlights.
But in 2006, the festival was cancelled as war broke out between Israel and the Shia Muslim movement Hezbollah.But a power-sharing deal pulled Lebanon - and the festival - back from the brink.
The event has a glittering history. In its heyday in the 1960s and 70s, the Baalbek festival attracted visitors from around the world. Stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Herbert von Karajan and the Lebanese singer Fairuz performed here.
This year's line-up is less stellar, but it is still an interesting mix of performers, including the Mexican singer Astrid Hadad, the Algerian diva Warda al-Jazayria and the Lebanese pianist Abdel Rahman al-Bacha.
But money and stability are needed to persuade artists to come to Lebanon. Mr Chemali says these days the country faces stiff competition from wealthy Gulf states, which have large budgets for entertainment.
"We are facing financial competition from the Gulf for the pop artists. The pop artists are asking really terrible amounts of money, but nobody could give them the setting that the Baalbek festival provides."
|