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History of Baalbek

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Even though this book was intended to be a tourist guide, it can now be considered a historical document. First written in 1890 and updated several times, the last being in 1935, the book describes the famous Lebanese city of Baalbek during that period.
Michel Alouf, a Greek Catholic from Baalbek, was also a skilled archeologist whose work is one of a kind. More important than the archeological description of the Baalbek ruins, is the rare description of the city of Baalbek during the early twentieth century. One would be surprised to learn that this city, today predominantly inhabited by Shiites, once had a considerable Christian minority.
Alouf also did his best in trying to trace the origins of the name of Baalbek, known as Heliopolis to the Greeks and Romans. He summarizes historic sources that mention the city and describe it.
Today on bookstore shelves, one cannot find such works on such a historically remarkable place. All works on Baalbek focus on the political situation of the city ever since it was dominated by the Hezbollah group. However, this book describes the topography, architecture and socioeconomic situation of Baalbek and its surrounding villages at the time, albeit briefly. A reader cannot but notice how Baalbek, now a hotbed of Shiite radicals, was once a marvelous work of architecture, art and science.
The book is in its 24th edition.