Bayt (House of Stone)

"In Arabic, the word 'bayt' translates literally as house, but its connotations resonate beyond rooms and walls, summoning longings gathered about family and home. In the Middle East, bayt is sacred. Empires fall. Nations topple. Borders may shift. Old loyalties may dissolve or, without warning, be altered. Home, whether it be structure or familiar ground, is finally the identity that does not fade."

Is it all that different for most of us?  Home is where the heart is.

Anthony Shahid was one of the two journalists who died recently in Syria.  He succombed to asthma -- probably treatable had he been in a stable country.  A moving essay of his appeared in the NY Times on Sunday, February, 20.

It was an excerpt from his forth coming book, "House of Stone" which will be published on February 28, 2012.  Will be available for Kindle, as hard cover and MP3.

Henry Miller wrote:  "Chaos is the score upon which reality is written."  Certainly, Syria is the nexus of chaos at this moment -- but "the moving finger writes and having writ moves on."  Concepts like Bayt endure.

Traditional Lebanese "House of Stone"