Hajar El-Hubla
On the way to the temple complex, one can stop at the Hajar
El-Hubla, claimed by many (especially here in Baalbeck) to be the largest
hewn block of stone in the world. It still rests here in this quarry which
the was source of much of the stone for the temples. It is 21.3 meters
of crystalline limestone. It certainly rivals the obelisk of Hatshepsut
at Karnak Egypt in size. Its scale also raises the same question that confronts
Egyptologists in respect to the Pyramids: how did the Phoenicians transport these huge stones? Nobody
seems to know for certain. There is also a legend associated with the stone.
It seems an infertile woman spent the night on the stone and woke to discover
the next day that she was with child. Since that time locals refer to it
as "the stone of the Pregnant Woman."
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