Karst rocks in Qartaba

Late on Friday night, right after work, we drove up to Qartaba and slept at my friend Elie.

Early the next day, I climbed to the house roof and enjoyed a calm morning.

Qartaba and the surrounding mountains started to wake up.

We then enjoyed some good coffee by the terrace.

And then visited the best bakery in town and enjoyed delicious cheese and thyme mankouche.

We were finally ready to start our hike in the highlands of Mazraat el Siyad.

Our first stop was a magical cave, with beautiful rock texture and naturally designed perfection.

We explored the cave and climbed our way to the top.

Afterwards, the trail continued towards an infinite set of karst rocks.

I've seen karst rocks throughout Lebanon, but the sheer size and topography is very special in Mazraat el Siyad. We entered corridors of karst.

It's the first time I realize that rocks can be as diverse as plants.

After hiking for some time, we reached the other side. A mountainous forest lay there, and we felt like hiking further towards it, but were bound by the hours of day.

Instead we obsessed about exploring the corridors of karst.

As the end of day approached, we drove back home. On the way we passed by Janneh, a lush gorgeous valley.

It was a beautiful ending, right before it got dark.