The Stone, sahel alma chafic frem, chahtoul azar family, freddy rached elias richa, joseph ouayda

Captures of the Book: Heritage Wealth The Stone

Since the civil war in 1975 and during the following years, I have traveled Lebanon up and down and have witnessed, with a broken heart, the destruction of architectural pieces of art that belonged to our ancestors.

The freestones, the red roofs, the mandaloun, the sculpted wooden doors, the arcades, the lintels, the stone stairs, the moucharabieh have been replaced by a jungle of concrete and aluminum. The heritage of many ancient civilizations has been also destroyed (Canaanite, Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Arab, Crusader, Ottoman, etc...).

Lebanon, the country of the Cedar and the sun, expresses its identity through its plural architecture.

Today, I cannot but feel the melancholy when I see that my country is invaded by silent and cold concrete like the desert. Its villages have become miserable; its beaches, a heap of waste; its land abandoned.

Through this book, I wanted to stop the time in order to preserve the sites that have escaped from the human and massive destruction of our heritage.

Eternalizing these moments, was not only fixing memories, but also a service for the History of my country; a service that I have achieved with great joy.

I wish that this book would encourage each person to contribute to the preservation of our heritage.

Raymond Yazbeck

Dlebta, House of Iskandar Roufael, Sami Roufael, Tony Hattouni, Naoum Roufael