Hajar El-Hubla

The largest hewn
            block of stone in the world?

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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