New Book: Letters of Girgi Dimitri Sursock to Martin Hartmann: German Diplomacy in Ottoman Beirut

Saïd Chaaya Discussion

Dear colleagues and friends,

I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book :  “Lettres de Girgi Dimitri Sursock à Martin Hartmann : La diplomatie allemande dans la Beyrouth ottomane” by Editions Geuthner in Paris.

 

Letters of Girgi Dimitri Sursock to Martin Hartmann : German Diplomacy in Ottoman Beirut 

For more details and to purchase, you are welcome to visit the publisher's website:

https://geuthner.com/livre/lettres-de-girgi-dimitri-sursock-à-martin-hartmann/1168

 

Description :

From 1878 to 1913, Girgi Dimitri Sursock,  drogman at the General Consulate of the German Empire in Beirut, maintains a close correspondence with Martin Hartmann, a renowned orientalist. Sursock and Hartmann had a common interest in the religion, history, literature and geography of the Middle East. They had a lot in common through their Freemasonry membership which reinforced their friendship.
This is the first book which covers the subject of the Sursock’s Family role in the diplomatic and the intellectual history of Beirut at the end of the nineteenth and the start of the twentieth century.

Sursock is the link that unites many orientalists, he is the key to understanding the cultures of the Arab world. The letters are a testament of Beirut moving towards modernity.
This book brings together all the unpublished letters from Girgi Dimitri Sursock to Hartmann, written in French, Arabic and German. They are edited, translated into French, followed by a commentary. The book is full of incredible information about the city, its inhabitants and its economy.

 

Best regards

Saïd Chaaya