The Cedars of God | Lebanon

The Cedars of God (Arabic: أرز الربّ‎ “Cedars of the Lord”) are among the last survivors of the extensive forests of the Cedars of Lebanon that thrived across Mount Lebanon in ancient times. Their timber was exploited by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians as well as the Phoenicians. The wood was prized by Egyptians for shipbuilding; Solomon used them in the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and the Ottoman Empire also used the cedars in railway construction.

In 1998, the Cedars of God were added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedars_of_God


Click here for the fullscreen version.

This Gigapan was taken from the Famous Ski Slopes of the Cedars from an altitude of around 2,300 m.
It was produced from 540 single shots of 18MP taken with the Canon EOS 550D (T2i) using Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens.

In the foreground you can see the Cedars forest and the village
In the middle ground you can see villages like Bcharre, Bqaa Kafra, Hadchit and the Famous Holy Valley Kadisha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadisha_Valley
In the background you can see Diman, Ehden and other villages.