A new book highlights works of prominent scientists, musicians and intellectual figures from Lattakia

Within the framework of a documentary attempt to shed light on the intellectual movement which Lattakia governorate witnessed in the past two centuries, the book “Candles which did not melt”  bySamerAwad chronicles 17 scientists , intellectuals  and musicians   from the city of Lattakia.

The 518-page book, which was issued by Dar Al-Irshad for publishing,  was presented  by its author during  a ceremony hosted by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Lattakia in the presence of a number of writers, intellectuals  and interested persons.

 Awad  reviewed in the book the careers and works of a number of prominent figures from Lattakia including  Gabriel Sa’adeh, Elias, Edward Morcos, Mahmoud Al-Ajjan, Masoud Boubou, Elias Saleh, Sheikh Abdul Fattah Al-Mahmoudi, Ra’oulVitali, Muhammad Ali Shalla, Abdullatif Al-Sofi and others.

The writer seeks, as he expressed  to SANA , to shed light on unknown aspects of the lives of these figures by collecting information from  348 references of  14 types such as interviews, manuscripts and field visits to focus on what is new in the biographies  and work of these famous personalities.

 Awad noted that the book is a step in a major project with the presence of many prominent figures  in Lattakia who deserve to be highlighted.

The writer Manat Al-Khair, who presented the book, considered  it a true reference on these personalities  and a historical and knowledge museum for the city of Lattakia through these figures, stressing the book is  a patriotic and humanitarian work and brings back into the spotlight some of the people of Lattakia who provided it with their ideas and creativity, calling on the writer to complete his project in later parts because this city still contains a lot of distinguished characters.

 In a speech that represented the families of the personalities that  “Candles which did not melt” book addressed, Sami Sufi, the nephew of Dr. Abdul Latif Al-Sufi believed  that the book is an accurate scientific documentation and the best way to honor  these prominent characters’  work and achievements which  prove that thought does not die.

He  pointed out that the book’s richness of  materials, pictures and manuscripts required six years of research and investigation  which made  it an important reference in the Arabic library.

 It is noteworthy that the author Samer Awad is a lawyer and has eight books in literature, history, documentation and law   including “From My Papers on the Margin of the Crisis”  and “The Orthodox Sermon Between Church and Law”.

RawaaGhanam