Lebanon: where civilisations met and merged

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The gnarled, monumental olive trees leading to Nabil Nahas’s studio in the mountains north of Beirut, portrayed by the renowned Lebanese-American artist in semi-abstract paintings, are silent witnesses to more than a thousand years of history. ‘They date from the Roman period,’ and come from lands mentioned in the bible, Nahas told me at his studio in the Lebanese village of Ain Aar in February. ‘What’s fascinating is that they’re still alive.’ – 2026/05 / article