heritage in the fields of art and industry. I regret to note its absence in more than one aspect of our own life.
Take France, for example: her people and her government have appreciated the natural and historical wealth latent in the beauty of her lands and cities, and have spared no effort to turn that wealth to account. The cities of the Azure Coast, Paris, and many historic towns and places are furnished with the utmost possible means of attraction and facilities for tourism: excellent roads; splendid hotels of every class; beautiful pleasure-grounds; festivals and seasons of manifold celebrations, arranged with the greatest order, beauty, and variety (fashion shows — carnival — flower parades — opera performances — ballet — musical, athletic, and cultural events, etc.) that draw the foreign tourist, who spends generously for the enjoyment and pleasure he finds.
As for England: the impression London left on me — and I believe it is shared between me and the majority of those who have visited it — is that order and deliberateness for which the Englishman is famous. Although it is counted among the largest cities of the world in area and the most densely peopled, it is not the widest in its squares nor the straightest in its streets, and traffic accidents there hardly ever occur; yet it is rich in its spacious public parks, and I do not exaggerate when I say that the area of Hyde Park, Regent's Park, and St. James's Park
may well exceed the area of Beirut!!!
And Belgium, small in area and in people compared with the great powers surrounding her, enjoys a distinguished economic and industrial position; she is among the richest states of Europe today, thanks to her flourishing industry and commerce and the riches she reaps from the colony of the "Belgian Congo." Earnestness and hard toil prevail in the nature of her people. I liked Brussels very much: it resembles Paris in form, with one great difference — its merry atmosphere.
As for Germany, in whose flanks the war left bleeding wounds and a destruction whose trace will never vanish, she today shakes the
rubble from her shoulders and rises with astonishing strength and speed. The city of Munich, for example, which destruction had engulfed, has recovered more than thirty percent of its buildings within three years. And what truly stirs admiration is the tremendous effort, and the endurance in unceasing work, that the German woman is putting forth in this critical period of her country's life, to restore life to what it once was.
As for Austria and her capital,
Vienna of the Blue Danube, it is a beautiful land whose sons sway to drink and song, singing of the immortal glories written upon the pages of history by the likes of Beethoven, Schubert, and Strauss, and of the palaces of their bygone kings, heedless of the want and hardship in which they flounder.
Switzerland has become famous for her fitness for tourism, thanks to organization, management, and preparedness in every field — though her climate is harsh: snow falls without interruption in winter, so that avalanches are frequent, and rain falls in summer with many storms. How I wish Lebanon might become the Switzerland of the East — Lebanon of the temperate climate, no less than she in beauty and in possibilities.
Italy: land of art, taste, and beauty. I loved her from the first visit, and on the second I found that between our people and hers there is a great resemblance of character — but the spirit of art and merriment runs in their veins. Her markets are full
Florence, before a masterpiece among the statues of Michelangelo
A memento of our visit, April 1949
Spain — Seville: the Arab gardens in the palace
August 1959
The entrance and gateway of the Dolmabahçe Palace
Istanbul, August 1952