Baalbek, Lebanon: Where the Roman ruins outstrip Rome

(CNN) -- I approached Baalbek on a hot, dry day out of Beirut, down a broken road where children played, oblivious to passing cars.

I pulled up by a small hut on the outskirts of the city, where I'd been told to ask for Abdul Nabi al-Afi.

There he was, a slim, cheery, weather-beaten man who offered me coffee.