Into the deep

One Wednesday afternoon, Yasmina and I left Beirut in late afternoon. We traveled the world that day, breakfasting at a Parisian cafe, shopping in London boutiques, then climbing up this mountain and back in time.



Like inching along a time line, the high we climbed, the further archaic our landmarks became. We came upon villages, castles, a monastery, and the Ark.



At the top, we entered a cave, heading back down into the mountain. No pictures are allowed.



But the Jeita Grotto is a truly stunning piece of the earth and deserves to be a Natural Wonder of the World.







Sweeping along a delicate, winding concrete walkway, you are at times within a foot of a stone curtain that took millions of years to drape or staring face down into what could only be the pits of hell.
It feels infinite and sacred; its vastness a siren song luring you to the very end of the walkway, craning to peer around the last stalagmite, wanting to know how deep, how far, how high, how forever it goes.

[+ grotto fotos were found via google image search]