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November 1942 - Allied troops in front of one of the great "Temple of Jupiter" frieze and cornice pieces with a "Lion Head" water spout gargoyle, Baalbek, Syria [now North Lebanon][colourized version]

IMAGE INFO

- George Dobner [Australian Army 2/4 Anti Malaria Control Unit] is 2nd from right of pic. The British soldier at right [with guard dog] is likely under command of the British officer at left.

- The Temple of Jupiter (Roman Heliopolis) was a colossal temple dedicated to the cult of Zeus, located in Heliopolis of Roman Phoenicia (Baalbeck of modern Lebanon). This is one of a number of massive "Lions Head" gargoyle water spouts that can be found around the temple ruins.

- Note the officer at the left of pic is holding another Kodak Brownie folding camera while the guard's dog (a British bull-terrier?) is making a meal of George's slouch hat! Note the guard has left his unattended military .303 rifle propped against the massive stone plinth at right of pic.

- The sheer scale of that massive plinth from the temple dwarfs the height of the men in the photo.

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SOURCE INFO

- Original image captured by my late father-in-law, Driver Tom Beazley of the Australian Army, 2/4 Anti Malaria Control Unit, 9th Division, 2nd Australian Imperial Force, using a folding Kodak Brownie camera with 120 roll film, while he was on extended leave.

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PROCESS INFO

- Digitized using a Canon Canoscan 8800F scanner.

- Restored from the badly grained, scratched & faded original, using Adobe Photoshop CS Windows (duo-tone version).

- Latest version re-processed using AI colourization, enlargement & enhancement software.

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Uploaded on June 23, 2023
Taken in November 1942