WHAT LIES BENEATH

Anita Limaye found the stalactites and stalagmites at Jeita Grotto near Beirut to be a fascinating example of Nature’s painstaking craftsmanship

   Of all the famous sculptors in history, none impresses me more than the greatest of them all – Nature! And once again Nature showed off its dexterity, not on the surface, but inside the caves of Jeita Grotto - one of the greatest pieces of sculpted art in the history of the world!
   Jeita Grotto, nine mysterious kilometres of 9 km of subterranean caves, is the longest such complex in the Middle East and was a contender for the “New Seven Wonders of Nature”. Jeita Grotto got its name due to the fact that the entrance to the cave is situated in the town of Jeita which means “roaring water”. Amazingly, the stalactites and stalagmites inside these limestone caves are sculpted by nothing but water and time!
   Jeita Grotto, around 20 km north of the capital city Beirut, is in the Valley of Nahr al-Kalb, a river which is also known as “Dog River”. The grotto is the main source of this river which supplies water to Beirut city. Jeita Grotto comprises two caves, the Upper Grotto and the Lower Grotto. The Upper Grotto can be traversed on foot, and then a ride in an electric boat along the river leads you through the Lower Grotto.
   The entire complex is well maintained with facilities for tourists such as restaurants, a souvenir shop, a small zoo and other amenities. The layout of Jeita Grotto is also very well planned with a cable car ride transporting all the tourists to the Upper Grotto at the beginning of the tour and a small toy train ride takes everyone
   back to the car park at the end of the visit! These two rides were especially popular with the children like my five year old and definitely more interesting for them than the “stone structures” they were made to see inside the caves!
   After the exciting cable car ride, which goes directly above the Nahr al-Kalb river, we reached the Upper Grotto where we saw a 15 minute documentary providing us with a better understanding of the natural phenomenon of cave formations and Jeita history at the Sound and Image Theatre. We were fascinated to learn that it takes 100 years for a single centimetre to be formed!
   We could not wait to go inside the caves after feeling more “equipped” with interesting information from the short film. The saddest part of the entire
tour was when we were asked to deposit our camera at the entrance – no photography is permitted inside the caves so as to preserve their natural chemical compositions and prevent any damage caused by the flashlight.
   The Upper Grotto, inaugurated in 1969, has a walkway specially created all along the inside of the cave to enable visitors to see the wondrous shapes as they walk the entire stretch of 2,500 feet. We entered through a 380 ft long concrete tunnel and we could hear the sounds of a drop of water, especially created by the sound effects around the tunnel! The continuous beat of the single drop of water – drip, drip, drip —enhanced our curiosity manifold even before we got close to the actual thing!
   The stalactites (pointing downwards from the roof) and stalagmites (formations pointing upwards from the floor) were fascinating. Huge formations resembled curtains, draperies, giant mushrooms, columns, elaborate chandeliers and a myriad other things, depending on how active the imagination of the beholder is....
   To imagine that all these took millions of years to form was mind boggling! The good lighting system inside provided the correct effects – sometimes the formations looked white, at other times red and even violet in the end! The longest stalactite in the world is also located here in this grotto – and it soars up an incredible 27 feet, almost the height of a three-storeyed building!
   The Lower Grotto, inaugurated in 1958, is as interesting as the Upper one. The chill in the air is more perceptible inside the lower cave which lies 200 feet below the upper cave. The river is lit in a green colour, giving an almost eerie look, and electric boats took us through the interesting maze of stalagmites for about 1600 feet. Especially interesting was the “Eagle Obelisk” stalagmite During winter season, though, the lower grotto is closed due to the high level of water inside the cave.
   Before taking the train back to where we started, we spent some more time admiring the stone sculptures outside. At the souvenir shop, we also bought postcards of the inside of the caves to show people back home since we had no photographs for memory! There was also a quaint cafeteria covered with adorable grape vines and grapes, reminding us that we were indeed in the wine country of Lebanon!

NATURAL DRAMA

   On our way back we stopped at another interesting place a small distance from Jeita Grotto – The Hall of Fame Museum, a private institution. All the figures inside the museum, belonging to famous personalities in history are made with silicone and looked very life-like! The unique thing about these silicone figurines is that some of them also perform actions like moving their hands and eyes! That makes it a notch better than Madame Tussaud’s actually!
   There was Pope Jean Paul II "blessing" everyone with a raised hand, the famous Lebanese singer "Sabah", Fidel Castro, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Albert Einstein and "the fattest man in the world" among others! Not many know about this place or bother to stop by and look inside but it was definitely worth a dekko! At the end of this wonderful tour of Jeita Grotto and the hall of fame, we could only say to our guide "Shukran" meaning ‘thank you’ in Arabic!