On the 25th of October 2006, the Ambassador of Lebanon Mr. Massoud Maalouf hosted a cultural evening followed by a reception in his residence at Wilanow to inaugurate the book “Kalila i Dimna” which was translated to Polish by Dr. Janusz Krzyżowski and published through a contribution of the Embassy of Lebanon.

The Lebanese Embassy was honored by the presence of Senator Piotr Andrzejewski as well as the Chairman of the Polish-Lebanese Parliamentary Group Deputy Janusz Kołodziej and the Vice-Chairman of the Group, Deputy Marian Piłka at this reception.

Guests included Arab Ambassadors accredited to Poland, dignitaries representing the Polish political, cultural, intellectual and academic fields, as well as members of the Lebanese community.

On the program of the evening were speeches delivered by the Ambassador and by Dr.Surender Bhutani in addition to readings of some Fables from the book by the Actor Robert Tondera accompanied by Arab-Andalusian music.

Tribute was made to H.E.Ambassador Massoud Maalouf for contributing in the publishing of the book and to the translator of the book Dr. Krzyżowski for his initiative. “Kalila i Dimna” was originally written by the philosopher Ibn al Moukafaa in Arabic and is now made available for Polish readers.

The Ambassador assured the Attendees that despite all the circumstances Lebanon went through throughout its history and during the last period, its contribution to civilization was never hampered by events or by difficulties and will never be.