It was by chance that I learned from my late mother that the “Khalil Sarkis” of the “Hamidie” Society was her maternal grandfather, when one day she told me: “If you like horses you must know that my grand father lost a fortune in horses”. “Gambling” I asked? and she told me that he had lost a lot of money taking horses to the USA. Very excited I went to the “Oriental Library”, belonging to the Jesuits order in Beirut, hoping to find the “Lissan ul Hal” collection, a daily newspaper founded 1875 by Khalil Sarkis in Beirut and widely read. By chance they had all the old volumes from 1882 to 1955, since “Lissan ul Hal” was for many years the leading newspaper in Lebanon and Syria. Khalil Sarkis was the first president of the press syndicate in Lebanon, he was fluent in both English and German, he married Luisa the daughter of professor Butros el Bistani, who was famous in the Arab world for writing and publishing the first Arabic Encyclopedia. Khalil was for many years the paramount figure of the Evangelical community in Beirut. His son Ramez was minister in various governments, and his grandson Khalil is a renowned philosopher and writer, now retired…
A hujjah (plural hujaj) is usually a certificate of authenticity for Arabian horses. But it can be much more than that. Some hujaj offer a detailed snapshot of the lifestyle and mindset of its authors. The hujjah of the Blunt desert import Meshura is a case in point. Take a look at its translation, here. It will be the subject of subsequent posts. PS: Throughout this past week, I have been experiencing some problems in posting photos on the blog. I am trying to sort this out, and apologize for the inconvenience.