The cult room of the temple is surrounded by columns that are attached to the wall. There are two levels of statue niches. There are two levels to the main room, a lower part and a higher part which is reachable by stairs. There are damaged parapets which are decorated with dancing Maenads which part of the reason why it is believed that this is a Temple of Bacchus. Underneath the higher part of the room is a crypt which is believed to be where the cultic vessels were kept. The
The Temple of Bacchus still stands today largely due to luck and because the temple was part of Baalbek’s medieval fortifications. Additions were made to the temple during the medieval period that changed the look and of some areas of the temple. There were also changes made to improve the temple’s function as a medieval fortification. A square tower in the southeast can still be found in part of the stairs leading to the temple and barracks can be seen in the southwest.
Centuries of earthquakes did some damage to the temple and the surrounding buildings. To some extent it was the crumbling ruins of the other buildings that helped to protect the prized temple. The temples at the site were subjected to theft and war in addition to the destruction caused by the earthquakes. The 1759 earthquakes caused extensive damage to the site with the keystone of the lintel sliding 2 feet.
In the 1860s a column of rough masonry was erected to support the keystone. The lintel is intricately decorated with an eagle (the symbol of Jupiter), holding the herald’s staff (the symbol of Mercury) situated between two cupids (the symbol of Venus). It is the lintel that ties the entire city complex together.
There is also evidence that the entrance to the temple was preserved as early at the 16th century. A German expedition to the site in the 1898 began to preserve and excavate the site. The German expedition began to reconstruct the ruins. There are inscriptions from German emperor Wilhelm II and Turkish sultan Abdulhamid II. In later years French mandate led to extensive clearings and repairs which further helped to improve the site. Eventually it was the Lebanese who would continue to restore and renovate the ruins.
In 1984 the ruins at Baalbek including the prized Temple of Bacchus were inscribed as a World Heritage Site. Today the modern city of Baalbeck which stands close to the ruins is the principal centre of Al-Biqa. The city is located in one of the area’s most fertile farming regions.
Tourism due to the ruins is now a major part of the city’s economy. In 1998 a museum was opened in the tunnels that are found below the courtyard of the Temple of Jupiter. The Baalbeck International Festival is held every year during the summer at the temple complex.
Today there remains a conservation effort to continue to restore and protect the temple and the surrounding ruins. The conservation effort is supported by a world bank project and 70% of the workforce on the conservation project are Syrian refugees. In the summer of 2016 the 60th International Festival of Baalbeck was held. The festival attracted huge numbers of visitors from Lebanon and surrounding areas.