The oldest cedars in Lebanon are Arz el Rab, in the north near Bcharre and Wadi Qadisha, but Barouk has bigger forests, at about an hour from Beirut.

It’s the perfect place to escape the summer heat of the capital and soothe the eyes after an overdose of concrete and construction.

Cedars are particular in that they grow upwards for a few decades, then begin growing outwards, hence the sweeping tent-like foliage and those fantastic swollen trunks.

This is the first time I’ve managed to get close enough to see a cicada (une cigale). Usually you just hear them chattering boisterously in the trees above you. For an insect, it makes a real racket.

If anyone out there is knowledgeable with plants, I’d love to know what all these are called.