PEAN Lionel, executive chef at Le Gulf Meridien Hotel in Alkhobar, has become something of a celebrity this Ramadan. His claim to fame is not linked to his cooking skills, although he is reputed to be a genius with a whisk and a knife. Rather it is the miniature silver box that he takes out of his pocket when we meet which contains the reason for his popularity during this holy month.
The silver box is barely 3 cm square and when Lionel opens it he shows that inside it contains a copy of the Holy Qur’an which is even tinier.
“This Qur’an belongs to my father, Hubert, who purchased it 45 years ago during a trip to North Africa,” explains Lionel. “He bought it from a man in Morocco and he has treasured it always. When I was a child and was a very good boy he would let me hold it. Recently he gave it to me for safekeeping and I have set out to discover something about its history and importance.”
Lionel’s copy of the holy book measures just 2 cm by 1.8 cm with a thickness of 0.9 cm. His father went to a pharmacy some years back and asked to use their medicine scale. He weighed the little book and found that it was only 3.5 grams.
Since his arrival in Alkhobar five months ago, almost every member of Lionel’s kitchen staff has asked to see his treasure. One day he brought it out so that the 33 men on his team could examine it together. They were overwhelmed with the detail and quality of the calligraphy on the pages. Now word of the small masterpiece has spread and there are many patrons of the hotel asking if they can have a look.
“I want to share this Qur’an with everyone but it has been a challenge to accommodate every request. We are so busy in the kitchen especially in the afternoon as the iftar time comes so early this year,” said Lionel. “With many of my staff working reduced hours this month, even starting at 10 a.m. we must work full out to finish on time, and we can’t be late! The setting sun waits for no one.”
It is after he completes the iftar preparations and before he begins working on suhoor that Lionel can relax for a few minutes and take the precious manuscript out for admirers to view. A group of Americans who came to Le Gulf Meridien to experience a traditional iftar were lucky enough to glimpse the small Qur’an.
“Generally I don’t allow people to hold it,” said Lionel. “It is very fragile. I usually just remove the lid to the box and let people look at the book without touching it. When I was a small child I accidentally broke off part of one page. If the paper was brittle then, I imagine it must be even more delicate now.”
In about one month Le Gulf Meridien will begin the installation of a new state-of-the-art kitchen and Lionel is hoping to have a few days off after the holiday rush. During that time he is planning to take the tiny Qur’an to Riyadh to have an expert examine it. Previously he worked at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai and he had some experts in rare books in the Emirate inspect his father’s copy of the Qur’an for the first time. They were amazed at its quality and no one could even estimate a possible value. For Lionel, it is priceless. He is very curious about it though and is anxious to have a professional evaluation.
“There have been many reports of miniature Qur’ans,” he said. “A newspaper in France published a report about a small Qur’an but this one is smaller. I even saw another report just yesterday about a man in Bangalore who has a copy of the holy book measuring 1.8 cm by 2.6 cm which he plans to enter into the Guinness Book of World Records. My father’s copy of the Qur’an is tinier than that.”