Horsh Arz el-Rab
The forest is smaller. The mountain is not.
Gilgamesh came for this wood. Egypt called us Fenku because of it. Hiram sent it to another people’s temple.
The Cedars of God still stand above Bsharri, over the holy valley. Photographs of the grove — not a rendering.
The forest is a remnant. The mountain is the same mountain that sold timber to Egypt, to Uruk, to Jerusalem. UNESCO keeps the name. We kept the trees.
Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)
Cedrus libani · Bsharri, Mount Lebanon · living forest
UNESCO World Heritage — Qadisha Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God
Wikimedia Commons · Cedars of God, Bsharri
Gad Yaton: The mountain still stands. The forest is smaller. The name is not.
A cedar of Lebanon
Cedrus libani · Bsharri grove · living tree
UNESCO World Heritage — Horsh Arz el-Rab
Wikimedia Commons · Cedars of God, Bsharri
Gad Yaton: Egypt called us Fenku for this wood. The Nile has no such tree.
The high grove
Cedrus libani · Horsh Arz el-Rab, Bsharri, Mount Lebanon
UNESCO World Heritage — Forest of the Cedars of God
Wikimedia Commons · Cedars of God, Bsharri
Gad Yaton: They climbed for this. The tablets call it the forest of the gods.
Inside the Cedars of God
Living cedar stand · Bsharri / Horsh Arz el-Rab · Mount Lebanon
UNESCO World Heritage — Qadisha and the Cedars
Wikimedia Commons · Cedars of God
Gad Yaton: Gilgamesh came for timber. We kept the trees.
The grove above Bsharri
Cedrus libani over the village · Bsharri, Mount Lebanon
UNESCO World Heritage — Horsh Arz el-Rab
Wikimedia Commons · Bsharri cedars
Gad Yaton: The village still sits under the name of the Lord.