Baalbek vs. Balbek: Correct Spelling of the Ancient City

The standard modern transliteration is Baalbek (or Ba'albek).

• Arabic: بعلبك‎ (Baʿlabakk)
• Meaning: "Lord (Baal) of the Beqaa (Valley)" or "Lord of the Source"
• Ba'albek reflects the Arabic glottal stop (hamza) and definite article
• Balbek is an outdated, simplified European rendering (19th–early 20th c.)

Usage

• UNESCO / Academic / Lebanese official: Baalbek
• Historic texts (pre-1950): Often Balbek, Baalbeck, Heliopolis (Roman name)
• Modern tourism: Baalbek

The site (Roman temples of Jupiter, Bacchus, Venus) is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Use Baalbek.