Word: baalbek
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Lebanese kidnappers still hold 13 hostages, six of them American. Though the whereabouts of the captives are unknown, rumors often place them in Baalbek or surrounding villages. Yet at the moment, Hizballah's grip on Baalbek is < threatened by the advent of peace. Lebanon's 15-year civil war ended last October, when Syrian troops ousted General Michel Aoun, the renegade Christian leader, from his power base in Beirut. Over the past few months, thousands of Lebanese tourists have begun to return to Baalbek, and both their dress and behavior are anathema to Islamic fundamentalists...
...Hizballah put up banners saying 'Leave Our Town Alone' and 'Whoever Wants to Come to This Town Must Respect Its Customs,' " says a Baalbek housewife who witnessed the incident. "That night the Hizballah TV station showed a videotape of the tourists, and the commentator said, 'Look at this corruption, this sinful behavior.' But the tourists weren't dancing or singing. They just came to look." The city's several thousand Syrian troops tolerate Hizballah's activities but would probably intervene should the culture clash escalate. "The Syrians could make this place free," says a Baalbek merchant. "But this is Syria...
According to Musawi, Baalbek's Islamic leaders have no objection to non- Muslims' visiting the ruins. "But we cannot accept drinking in public places, men walking with women or public displays of affection," he adds. Nor does Musawi welcome the Lebanese government's plans to resume Baalbek's summer festival. From 1955 until the outbreak of war 20 years later, some of the world's leading talents performed under the stars on the steps of the temple of Bacchus. Ella Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, Ginger Rogers, Claudio Arrau and Mstislav Rostropovich are but a few of the celebrities who have signed...
...battle of wills in Baalbek is about more than a question of shorts and hand holding. It is about the refusal to relinquish territory. "Baalbek was left to rot by the Lebanese government," says Musawi. "The Maronites are supposed to be the rulers in this country and everyone else their slaves. Hizballah rose up out of Baalbek to fight against Israel. Baalbek is the capital of the Islamic resistance...
Lest anyone doubt it, the main road into Baalbek bears a sign saying "Martyrs of Islam Street, the road to Jerusalem." A 15-ft.-high replica of Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque stands in the middle of the highway. Nearby, the side of a building is painted with the face of Ayatullah Khomeini and the words ISRAEL MUST BE WIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE...