Between Two Worlds: American Lives in Late Ottoman & Mandate Lebanon & Syria

American Protestant missionaries began their work in Ottoman Syria in the 1820s, arriving in a region marked by linguistic and religious diversity, strong local traditions, and emerging social change. Their early efforts focused on learning Arabic, establishing small schools, circulating translated books, and gradually forming relationships with local communities from Mount Lebanon to Beirut. Over the decades, their mission expanded into higher education, printing, medical care, and women’s schooling—areas where they collaborated with local teachers and families.

The American mission depended heavily on the creation and circulation of Arabic books, the training of local teachers, and the development of a network of schools, later a college, and reading communities through literary societies. Their work shaped new forms of social interaction, fostered literacy, and contributed to the overall intellectual awakening that characterized the region during the late Ottoman period. Missionary women, in particular, played an essential role in expanding education for girls and engaging with households and communities that male missionaries could not reach.

Between Two Worlds draws on this long and complex history, presenting the lives, activities, and social interactions of American missionaries in Syria and Lebanon through archival photographs, letters, publications, and documents preserved in the AUB Archives and Special Collections.

Exhibit Curator: Samar Mikati.
Acknowledgments: Many thanks go to Dalya Nouh and Mervat Kobeissi for their supports in content development.

For more info, please check: Founders' Legacy: Honoring the Vision, Celebrating the Journey