Kfarhim Grotto

	One of the most delightful frauds I have ever come across

Just to the north of Beirut is the Jeita Cave complex, where you float gently in a boat through a beautiful display of stalectites and stalegmites. Over-priced, no photography, but still beautiful.

About thirty miles to the south of Beirut you will see billboards advertising the Kfarhim Grotto at Beiteddine, with impressive pictures of the stalectites and stalegmites to be seen. The story of the caves is an interesting one.

Like many houses in these limestone mountains, this one had a small cave as a basement. Over the years water leaking from the house and a nearby spring caused some formations to grow - say, six or seven inches in height. The Lebanese are nothing if not entrepreneurial - they are the descendants of the Phoenicians, after all - and the owner of the house decided to develop his asset.

He and his family set to work to dig out a network of narrow tunnels beneath the house, fill them with concrete formations and channel water from the spring over them. The whole thing is a swiz - but well worth the price of admission to see the young chap, absolutely poker-faced, point at a stalegmite he made himself and solemnly tell you that it is four million years old!

Some swindles leave you fuming: others - like most fun-fair rides - give you an adequate measure of pleasure in exchange for your money. Kfarhim Grotto comes into the latter category and is, in my opinion, a must-see if you go to the Lebanon.

Watch the film and see what you think!