Dr. Van Dyck’s Shamsiyeh Tale

Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck at home wearing Abaya and smoking Nargila

According to a story recorded by the popular literature writer, Salam Rassi, Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck was the first person in Lebanon to use an umbrella. When he once carried one to Abeih to shield himself from the sun, locals curiously asked what it was. He instinctively replied, “Shamsiyeh,” thus giving the object its Arabic name—derived from shams, meaning “sun.”