As we brace ourselves for the onslaught of yet another summer, we’re looking hard at the little details for solace. You’ll find escape throughout this issue of the magazine, from the intricate openwork architecture to the splash of colour across hiking trails of the Jebel Akhdar.

Indeed, we leave no stone unturned, bringing you a mountainside of fossils, deadly garden predators, the story of how a pizza was named after a queen and a reality television-style show for your garden.

Like our article on photography and art, which ties together several hundred of years of thought, we hope you will enjoy the diversity of this issue, and the continuity that runs through it.

Mohana Prabhakar
Managing Editor