THE CEDARS OF LEBANON are an integral part of the history of the country, just as the antique cities of Byblos, Tyre and Baalbek. They date back to antiquity, when the Phoenicians were exporting cedar-wood to the pharaohs from the apparently inexhaustible forests which at the time covered the upper reaches of the mountains. The wood was not only used for construction but more especially for nobler purposes; this was the sacred wood of the gods and used to honour the dead, a task to which the people of the ancient Orient attached deep importance.

The cedars of today are very few in number because they have been overexploited, but their isolation gives them even greater majesty, evoking some awesome presence in the pure silence of the mountain peaks, standing strong under the snow amid sparkling cascades or locked in a grim struggle against the desolation of bare rock.

The most venerable representatives of the Cedars of Lebanon, which once covered the entire country, are in the Besharre region of North Lebanon. Some 400 trees, many between 1,200 and 2,000 years old stand on slopes 2,000 meters high in the shadow of the 3,100 - meter peak of Qornet Es-Sawda. From Lebanon's cedar forests Solomon got the wood for his temple and palace and from its wood the pharaohs carved their sarcopaghi and their "sun ships".

Hundreds of young Cedar trees have been planted around the area during the last 30 years, but since they only grow at a rate of 1 cm every year, it will be many generations before these saplings reach the impressive size of those in the forest.

In addition to the Cedar forest, there are a number of sites of interest in the area. The town of Bsharri is best known as the birthplace and resting place of Gibran Khalil Gibran, Lebanon's most famous mystic poet, artist and novelist. The Gibran Museum a converted monastery houses his paintings, drawings, and personal effects, as well as his casket. The town also has three churches and a waterfall.

Further north in Ehden is a fine stand of cedars, with another grove in the Jbeil area at Jajj near Laqlouk where their cocky foothold on the mountainside makes an impressive sight. The largest forest comprising several thousand trees, is at Hadeth al-Jebbe - but these are younger than millenary cedars of Becharreh. Finally, there are the forests of Barouk and Ain Zhalta in the Chouf, where the endless spread of trees on the gently rising slopes adds an impression of infinity to this symbol of agelessness.

Where their forebears laboured to out and haul their timber back down the mountainside, modern generations swoop down the slopes of Lebanon's various ski resorts. In addition to the existing centres in the Becharreh area, Laqlouq, and the Sannine massif in the region of Jbeil, other projects are under way to develop new sites, particularly on Mount Hermon where the slopes are outstanding. All the existing resorts are fully equipped with the latest chair or tow lifts and other facilities to ensure the skier a comfortable and safe day's sport. And by a curious coincidence of nature, these mountain-top ski centres are generally less than an hour's drive away from the numerous seaside resorts and marinas which dot the coast, the most important of which is Kaslik slope by ancient Byblos. it is, thus, possible to indulge in both mountain and water-skiing on the same day - a unique experience.

Of the various ski resorts, the cedars - apt name for this region of Becharreh - is closest to the sky, with its ski-lifts mounting the slopes of Kornet as-saouda, the highest point in Lebanon. A great natural bowl leads into the valley of the Qannoubins, once the retreat of many a saintly hermit. The resort of the Cedars had its first ski lift installed by the government in 1953.

The high altitude of Al-Arz means that it generally has a slightly longer season than the other resorts, sometimes beginning as early as November, and often lasting until mid or late April. The number of skiers on the slopes at weekends often reaches between two and three thousand. A number of national and international competitions are being planned every season. The resort is well provided with excellent hotels, there are also about 300 chalets available for rent. The main pistes are equipped with four lifts, one of which is lit at night. There are great opportunities for cross-skiing, and snowboarding. There are also ski schools as well as creche facilities where activities are arranged at the Kid's Club for children aged between five and twelve years.

From the saddle of the Ainata pass some 8.000 feet up, there is a fantastic view that takes in the plain of the Beqaa, Mount Hermon and Mount Sannine, the Qadisha valley, and beyond, far over the foothills and the sea to the horizon and even further, some say, to Cyprus. For those who prefer to leave the beaten track and crowded slopes, the extra effort of high-altitude cross-country skiing brings its own reward.

The skier, especially when he is obliged to walk, discovers a constantly changing landscape in the silence of loneliness of the high plateaux; while huge snow drifts can give an impression of vastness, there is intimacy too, in the frozen tarns scattered among the mountain tops. There is something intoxicating about being alone with nature.

A popular cross-country track crosses the Cedars northwards towards the village of Sir al-Dennieh. Before running downhill, the skier must climb, from about 3.000 to 4.000 meters, near woods full of aloe trees, in the crisp air. Lebanon is fortunate in having so many days of sun, even in mid-winter.

Laqlouq, in the north-east, is a small family resort, set among terraces of apple, pear and cherry trees built into the rocky mountainside. Of much more importance are the three main ski resorts in the Sannine massif: Faraya-Mzar, Faqra and Qanat-Bakish; here too are fine cross-country runs where the skier can lose himself. Mzar means temple, and numerous remains show that temples were constructed among the mountain peaks, where travellers could give thanks for having completed the most arduous part of their journey.

This is a region rich in natural curiosities, among them the 30-meter Bridge of Mzar, carved by wind and rain from the rock; there are the temples of Faqra, which Renan regarded as the most spectacular group of ruins in the mountains. All religions have their places of worship here - was it because, the further he climbed, the nearer man felt to God? From Mzar, a magnificent view takes in the whole of the Beqaa, Mount Hermon, Laqlouq, the Cedars and the coast, from Byblos to Saida; it is one of the finest views in Lebanon.

From Zaarour, a small resort on the western flank of Sannine, another splendid panorama takes in the famous Valley of Skulls.

The slopes of Mount Hermon have not yet been equipped with any sort of apparatus, and the skier would have to walk about 4 kilometers to reach the neck of the corridor which leads to the summit of the mountain.

The Cedar tree, king of the mountain tops, stands among these pure peaks like an immortal, which neither time nor history's vicissitudes can shake. If the Lebanese have chosen it as their national emblem, depicted on the flag, it is because the cedar represents not only the past, but also a guarantee for the future.