Zahle is a small town at the entrance of the Bekaa Valley. Although most of the Valley is dominated by Shiite muslims, Zahle is predominantly Christian (especially the upper part of town).
The town is divided in two part by a small river running right through the middle. When you are in the lower part of town, there is a road going up on the rights side of the river. The road coming down is on the left side of the river.
Zahle is some sort of a party town. At the highest part of town where the road turns and goes back down, there is a busstop and a small kiosque. When you look better however, you see the entrance to a gorge. This gorge is never wider than 30 meters, but it is filled with restaurants where you can eat, drink and sing until late in the night.
The rest of town is quite pretty, with some old buildings in a style which shows French influences, but is still solidly Middle-Eastern.
Zahle is an ideal starting place to visit the stunning ruins of Baalbek.
