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1. 'File 6/14 Schedule and non-schedule flights'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains papers and correspondence relating to the management of flight schedules to and from Kuwait. Various air routes as well as procedural and regulatory matters are discussed in the papers such as procedures for unscheduled landings and radio contact for unscheduled flights. Connections to other Middle Eastern and Asian capitals are also discussed in the papers, particularly between Beirut and Kuwait.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 154; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
2. The Fragrant Blossom: A Work on Manners, Society, and Letters
- Description:
- Abstract: Arij al-zahr: kitab akhlaqi, ijtima’i, adabi (The fragrant blossom: A work on manners, society, and letters) is a collection of essays by Shaykh Mustafa al-Ghalayini, a Lebanese Muslim teacher, writer, and authority on Islamic law. The essays cover a number of subjects presented in a readable style. Ghalayini discusses what it means to be an elegant speaker and writer in the “proper Arabic way,” avoiding the influences of what he calls a‘ujmah (non-Arabic) or afranj (European) style. In other essays, he treats the nature of mankind, the obligations of the Arabs in light of their rich history, the importance of modern education, local political currents in Beirut, and the place of social classes in a modern state. He calls on his readers to become “men of today and not men of the past.” Al-Ghalayini had a colorful career as political activist, essayist, and reformer. He was born and raised in Beirut, where he spent most of his life, except for brief stays in Cairo and Amman. In Cairo he perfected his knowledge of the Arabic language, working with teachers at al-Azhar, and he found time to publish articles in the newspaper al-Ahram (The pyramids). The title page of Arij al-zahr identifies him as Arabic instructor at the Imperial School and Ottoman College in Beirut. In 1910−11 he edited the general interest magazine al-Nibras (The lantern). During World War I, he served as a military chaplain in the Turkish army. In 1917, at the age of 32, he “took off the turban of the religious shaykh and replaced it with a tarboush,” because, as he explained, of pressure from the Turkish police to perform services that he deemed inappropriate for an imam. After World War I, he became Arabic tutor to the sons of King Abdullah I (1882−1951) of Jordan. His nationalist politics led him to prison and exile under the French Mandate. Later, because of his commitment to defending Islamic traditions in the face of the French authorities, he once again “placed the turban on his head” and regained prominence as a religious nationalist. In the final decade of his life he served as president and then as councilor of the Sunni Supreme Shari’ah (legal) Council of Lebanon. Arij al-Zahr was printed and sold at al-Ahliyah Press and Bookstore in Beirut.Physical description: 240 pages : 25 centimeters
3. The Most Poetical of Poetry
- Description:
- Abstract: Like many of his contemporaries, Rizq Allah Hassun (1825−80) set out to transcribe the classics into a refreshed Arabic idiom. In Ashʻar al-shiʻr (The most poetical of poetry), he chooses to recast selected Old Testament texts in an accessible poetic form. The book of Job is prominently featured in the collection because, as the author says in his foreword, it ranks with Homer and Shakespeare as a monument of world literature. Hassun’s translation of the story of Job into Arabic poetry is not intended as a Bible reading for the devout, but rather as a demonstration of the richness and adaptability of the Arabic language. Hassun based his poems on the Arabic translation of Cornelius Van Dyck (1818−95), which Hassun termed “the best Arabic translation of the Bible I’ve seen,” and on the English Bible of 1811, with notes by John Styles. The work also contains poetic renditions from the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and Lamentations. Rizq Allah Hassun took an active part in the cultural and political life of his times. He founded one of the first Arabic newspapers and took part in the anti-Ottoman opposition in the Levant and in the imperial capital, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), for which he was forced to go into exile in Russia and England. Ash’ar al-shi’r conforms to the pattern of Hassun’s other publications in its emphasis on literary style as a quality to be cultivated for its own sake, rather than as a vehicle for proselytizing or personal piety. There is no colophon giving publication details, but occasional notes mention that he completed drafts in 1869 while residing in England. The book was printed in 1870 at the American Press in Beirut.Physical description: 136 pages ; 22 centimeters
4. Explaining al-Khansa’ in Delightful Stanzas
- Description:
- Abstract: This book is a printed collection of the verse of Tumāḍir bint ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥarth ibn al-Sharīd al-Sulamīyah entitled Anis al-Julasāʼ fī Sharḥ Dīwān al-Khansāʼ (Explaining al-Khansa’ in delightful stanzas). Known to history as al-Khansā’ (she of the snub-nose or of resemblance to a gazelle), the author is regarded as one of the leading poets of late pre-Islamic Arabia. After meeting the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have admired her poetry, she became a Muslim. Contemporary and subsequent appreciation of her poetry owed much to the power of her panegyric laments. Her two brothers were killed in tribal strife before her conversion to Islam. After her conversion, her four sons died in battle for the new faith. Her Diwan (Collected poems) has been reprinted numerous times. In a flowery introductory paragraph, the editor of this 1895 edition, Father Louis Cheikho, states that the poetry of al-Khansa’ “ignited envy in the souls of [male] Arab poets and lifted the heads of all women in pride.” Cheikho began his study of her work with an earlier compilation published in 1888. The importance of this edition lies not only in its presenting a more complete compilation of her poetry and of classical commentary on it; the book also offers an intimate look at the methods used by a prominent Orientalist in tracing lost manuscripts, critically comparing them, and providing commentary that elucidates the text with comprehensive historical, literary, and lexical references. Cheikho was a teacher of the distinguished Russian Arabist I.Y. Kratchkovsky, who wrote in his memoirs about his surprised delight and later disappointment at discovering that both he and his mentor were working on the same pre-Islamic Arab poet.Physical description: 256 pages ; 24 centimeters
5. Medical Digest. Book I. On the Diseases of the Respiratory System
- Description:
- Abstract: Fī ʻilal al-jihāz al-tanaffusī (On the diseases of the respiratory system) is a translation from the French into Arabic of Hippolyte de Brun's Traité des Maladies de l'Appareil Respiratoire. Hippolyte de Brun (1855−1931) was professor of medicine at the Université Saint-Joseph, a Catholic university in Beirut founded by the Jesuits in 1875. He was also a physician at the French hospital in Beirut, and chair of clinical medicine from 1885 to 1914 and 1919 to 1926. The translator of this work, Khayr Allāh Faraj Ṣufayr, was a graduate of the same university and was a muʻāwin (extern) at the French hospital. In the preface to his translation, Ṣufayr praises—as a matter of formality—the progressive policies of the Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II (reigned 1876−1909), identifying them as the impetus to the creation of his work. He also emphasizes the difficulty of translating modern medical terminology into Arabic. The translator describes the book as having been undertaken under the supervision of its original author, de Brun, and as consisting of four chapters. The table of contents of the translated work, however, appears to reveal a basic division into five chapters: on diseases of the nasal cavity, the throat, the bronchi, the lungs, and the pleural cavity. The work includes a glossary of medical terms and the foreword to de Brun's original work. It was published at the printing house at Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut in 1888.Physical description: 25 centimeters
6. Pearls, or Selections of Fond Memory and Immortal Imprint
- Description:
- Abstract: Al-Durar wa-hiyya Muntakhabat al-Tayyib al-Zikr al-Khalid al-Athr (Pearls, or selections of fond memory and immortal imprint) is a memorial volume that collects the political and literary writing of the influential Arab nationalist Adib Ishaq (1856−85). Born in Damascus, Ishaq was a precocious youngster who received his formative education in Arabic and French at the French Lazarist school there and under the Jesuits in Beirut. His family’s strained circumstances forced him to leave school for work as a customs clerk. Excelling at languages, he supplemented his income by writing and translating and eventually dedicated himself to poetry, translation, and what today might be called advocacy journalism. He moved to Egypt in 1876, where he joined the circle of the well-known political agitator Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, whose Masonic interests he shared and to whose causes, such as criticism of Western imperialism, he devoted much of his writing. Singly or with like-minded colleagues, such as Salim Naqqash (with whom he produced Arabic plays), Ishaq established newspapers of opinion. His outspoken writings resulted in his being exiled from Egypt. He took up residency in Paris, but at the end of his life he returned to Lebanon, where he died at age 29. Ishaq’s restlessness as a traveler was matched by the variety of his literary and political interests. He collaborated with Naqqash in writing plays and wrote or translated novels. His novel Charlemagne is included in this set of readings, which was compiled by his brother, ‘Awni Ishaq. The volume contains a biography of Adib and numerous panegyrics to him by leading Muslim and Christian writers. The comprehensive selection of readings demonstrates his place in the evolution of Arabic letters and journalism from ornate poetry and rhymed prose to the modern political essay employing a wholly new format and lexicon.Physical description: 263 pages ; 26 centimeters
7. A Journey through the Atmosphere on an Airship
- Description:
- Abstract: Al-riḥla al-jawwīya fī al-markaba al-hawā'iya (A journey through the atmosphere on an airship) is an Arabic translation by Yusuf Ilyan Sarkis (1856−1932 or 1933) of Cinq Semaines en Ballon (Five weeks in a balloon), a novel by the French author Jules Verne originally published in 1863. Shown here is a second edition of this work, produced by the Jesuit print shop in Beirut in 1884 (the first edition having been published in 1875). The novel tells the story of an explorer, Dr. Samuel Ferguson, who, accompanied by a servant and a friend, sets out to cross the continent of Africa in a hydrogen-filled balloon. One of the objectives is to find the source of the Nile. In Sarkis's translation, the initial chapters of the work are compressed, and the entire work consists of 42 chapters, as opposed to the original 44 chapters. Born in Damascus, Sarkis was one of the foremost Arab authors and editors of his era. He lived for a time in Istanbul but spent most of his adult life in Cairo. He was active as a publisher, bookseller, and man of letters, and he did some research on antiquities generally, but particularly on numismatics. He is best known for his Muʻjam al-maṭbūʻāt al-ʻArabīya wa al-muʻarraba (Encylopaedic dictionary of Arabic bibliography), published in 1928. He died in Cairo.Physical description: 315 pages ; 20 centimeters
8. Emanations of Musk from Beiruti Verse
- Description:
- Abstract: Al-Nafh al-Miski fi-al-Shi’r al-Bayruti (Emanations of musk from Beiruti verse) is a collection of verse by the prolific Lebanese poet Shaykh Ibrāhīm al-Aḥdab. The author was first and foremost a traditionalist in his literary as well as his legal career. The poems are of various rhyme schemes and meters and display mastery of classical prosody. They are primarily madh (praise) commemorating the achievements of public figures or personal acquaintances. Examples include “Commending His Excellency Muhammad Rushdi Pasha, Governor of Syria,” “Praising Prince ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri on the Festival of ‘Id al-Adha,” and “Congratulations to the Distinguished Ibrahim Efendi, Chief of the Beirut Commercial Office on His Promotion in Grade.” Such encomiums were often commissioned for declamation at weddings, returns from the pilgrimage, or to elicit a reward for the poet, as happened when he received medals and other adornments in precious stones. More important than al-Ahdab’s versifying was his membership in the Jami’at al-Funun (Society of [Useful] Arts) and editorship of its journal Thamarat al-Funun (Fruits of the [useful] arts), the first Lebanese Muslim journal to confront the growing number of political and religious journals published by Christian reformers or missionaries. This organ, along with al-Jawa’ib (Responses) of Aḥmad Fāris al-Shidyāq (circa 1804−87), presented counterviews in support of Muslim interests and in sympathy for Ottoman authority. The journal flourished in the last quarter of the 19th century.Physical description: 232 pages
9. The History of Modern France
- Description:
- Abstract: Tarikh Faransa al-Hadith (The history of modern France) is a biography of Napoleon Bonaparte rather than, as suggested by the title, a general history of France. The author states that “France is the closest country to us in the Orient commercially and linguistically. We have chosen this topic as serviceable history, that is, the fundamental art upon which public policies, action, and planning are based.” The book is more than 1,000 pages long. Introductory chapters briefly cover geography and history to the 1770s, as well as the French Revolution, leading to the detailed biography. The length and precise detail of the narrative suggest that the work is a translation, but there is no indication of an original, nor are there any notes to help with identification. A comment on the title page mentions that “one hundred pages were compiled by Khattar al-Dahdah,” a Maronite contemporary. The author, Salīm al-Bustānī (1846−84), was the son of the famous scholar and teacher Buṭrus al-Bustānī. He is best known as his father’s alter-ego at the periodical al-Jinan (Gardens), published in Beirut from 1870. The Bustānīs, father and son, are but one example of several leading Lebanese modernist families of the 19th century. Other prominent writers and publishers were the Taqlā brothers, founders of al-Ahram (The pyramids) newspaper, and the Naqqāsh brothers, Mārūn and Niqūlā, who were essayists and playwrights. The book contains numerous engraved or woodcut illustrations derived from French paintings or other originals.Physical description: 1040 pages ; 23 centimeters
10. The Life of Cornelius Van Dyck
- Description:
- Abstract: Hayat Kurnilius Fan Dayk (The life of Cornelius Van Dyck) celebrates the life and achievements of American missionary, scientist, physician, and educator Cornelius Van Dyck (1818−1895). Born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Dyck received his degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1839 and left for the Near East the following year. His initial assignment was the intensive study of Arabic, the language of instruction at the Protestant schools. He also completed his study toward ordination and began work on the Bible translation that would be published some 20 years later. His mastery of Arabic was legendary and his writings had considerable influence on the development of an economical and precise prose style from the flowery poetics that preceded it. Van Dyck’s career was bound up with developments at the Syrian Protestant College, later the American University in Beirut, including its printing press, museum, and observatory, which he helped to finance from his private medical practice. In 1882 he resigned from the faculty in protest over the “Darwin issue,” which arose when Professor Edwin Lewis in his commencement address made what were interpreted as favorable references to Charles Darwin’s theories. This book offers an overview of Van Dyck’s career, followed by commemorative essays and poems by friends, students, and colleagues, many of which were read at Van Dyck’s golden jubilee in the Levant in 1890. The list of presenters includes some of the most prominent names in Arab culture of the 19th century. Illustrations include a photographic portrait as frontispiece, a bust in the garden of Saint George Orthodox Hospital where Van Dyck was chief physician, and a photograph of his gravestone. There is a ten-page annotated bibliography of his works.Physical description: 178 pages ; 21 centimeters
11. Discourse on Universal History
- Description:
- Abstract: This work is a translation into Arabic of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet’s history of the world, Discours sur l’histoire universelle (Discourse on universal history), in which the author argues for the divine right of kings. Bossuet’s book, originally published in 1681, is regarded as a classic statement defining the monarch as the embodiment of the state. Bossuet wrote the book for the benefit of the crown prince of France and based his argument on an interpretation of Biblical history. The work was translated by ‘Abd Allah al-Bustāni. It was commissioned for translation and publication by Bishop Yūsuf ibn Ilyās al-Dibs, primate of Lebanon and president of al-Da’irah al-‘Ilmiyah (The Scientific Society). It is difficult to understand why the bishop selected this work, since the political circumstances of the Ottoman Levant of the late-19th century differed radically from 17th century France. He may have endorsed it for its edifying content and judged it appropriate for teaching in schools under his authority. The work was printed at the Catholic Press in Beirut in 1882, which at the time was administered by Bishop al-Dibs. ‘Abd Allah al-Bustāni was a Maronite Catholic writer and teacher of Arabic. Little is known of Shakir al-‘Awn, whose name appears on the title page as co-translator.Physical description: 344 pages ; 24 centimeters
12. Poetry Collection of Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥilli
- Description:
- Abstract: Scholars consider al-Hilli one of the leading poets of postclassical times, that is, the period following the fall of the Abbasid Empire in 1258. His Diwan (Collection of poems) is in 12 chapters, which cover a variety of personalities and occasions and recount in verse vignettes his travels with the Egyptian Mamluk ruler Qalāwūn (died 1290) on his campaign to Mardin in eastern Anatolia. The poems are preceded by an autobiographical note in saj’ (rhymed prose). Al-Hilli was a recognized master of all forms of classical and popular poetry as well as a theoretician of prosody and literary history. The present collection showcases the poet’s facility with numerous poetic forms and themes. The work was printed in Beirut in 1892 with support from Lebanese writer and journalist Nakhlah Qalfāṭ. It is not known who edited the text or what manuscripts were used in its preparation, but it seems likely that Qalfat, who had been a bookseller, might have financed publication because of his wide-ranging literary interests and appreciation for humor and satire, as many of the poems pertain to the enjoyments of life. The work was printed at al-Adab Press, which was owned by the teacher and author Amin al-Khuri. It is well printed, considering the irregularity of the stanzas and the need for careful vowel pointing.Physical description: 528 pages ; 20 centimeters
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