Giant trees

The Prince of Ylliriel shows the view from the little balcony associated to his bedroom. His main library of books and novels is in Beirut, but since 2020 the Prince lives all year long in Amchit. In the past, he used to spend the week times in Beirut, and come to the countryside only during the weekends, as school and university were in the capital. 

That is the reason for which his bedroom (in Amchit) is rather simple. There are some of the maps and outlines of the novels he co-writes with Annelies Broeders visible on the walls. The Prince shows even his childhood pictures inside his bedroom to authentificate himself, as the entourage of the Faerie Princess doubts of everything, and accused him of every unfairness, without ever trying to listen to him, or giving him the chance to express himself! There are a few spots of dampness on the ceiling: the Prince did not yet have the time to clean them after a very damp and rainy fall and winter. 

The second video is from the garden, and the Prince talks among others about the two giant caoutchouc (rubber) trees that are often visible in the background. Those trees were planted by the Prince's great grandfather around sixty-five years ago. The Prince did not have the chance to meet this particular great grandfather who was elected and served as a deputy in the Parliament around seventy-five years ago, before deciding to abandon his political service, as according to him, one's had to be a liar in order to be a good politician, and he personally refused to lie or compromise. After him, nobody in the family ever did politics again. This particular great grandfather was also passionate about plants, and he was a pioneer in introducing many new species of trees and plants. Several gardens in Amchit still keep the heritage of this great grandfather's passion for plants. As a deputy, the Prince's great grandfather tried to introduce several innovative laws about water management in particular: a few were adopted, while others were unfortunately not. 

The caoutchouc and ficus trees are used in distant, tropical countries to create natural bridges above rivers, as those trees throw creepers that can become as hard as wood. When those creepers are still flexible, they can be used to connect two faraway trees separated by a cliff or a river.

Mount Lebanon is not a tropical country, yet some exotic trees can thrive on the coast where the lowest temperature during the winter rarely goes underneath 3 °C. The mountains however have an alpine climates, and there only apples, cherries, chestnuts and cedars can sprout. 

The Prince wishes to reiterate his invitation to Red-Oak, Green-Rose, and Little-Flute to come visit him, in the Faerie Princess' presence. The Prince is convinced that they will greatly like this place.