Then the steps end, and we find ourselves in an archway carved to look like tree

Then the steps end, and we find ourselves in an archway carved to look like tree trunks and leaves. On the other side of it is a square, the stone floor of which forms a checkered spiral of green granite and milky limestone. Pine trees of all kinds line the archways that surround the place, some as tall and wide as towers. I am struck by the strength of the birdsong there, chirping against the purple sky.