Elia Zughaib Author

"Twenty-five paintings by Helen Zughaib accompanied by favorite stories told by her father about life in Syria and Lebanon in the 1930s and during World War II. Helen's father was born in the Old Quarter of Damascus during Ottoman times, when Le Grande Syrie included the lands that are now demarked as Syria and Lebanon. His father and mother, first cousins in an arranged marriage, were from the villages of Zahle and Durer Shweir in the Lebanese mountains. Helen Zughaib is an award-winning artist who has developed a distinctive technique working in gouache and ink. She was born in Beirut and educated in the Middle East, Paris, and the US. She is currently based in Washington. Elia Zughaib grew up in Syria and Lebanon before coming to America to study at Syracuse University. He received his PHD in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He joined the United States Foreign Service and served in Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, and France until his retirement. He and his wife, Georgia, live in Virginia."