B- Dr. Dahesh’s Birth and Beginnings:

During the last years of the Ottoman Empire and in the small town of Isfis (located in what was known as Mesopotamia and not to be confused with the biblical town of Ephesus), Moussa Elias Aleshi was born into a Syriac Orthodox family. Moussa converted to Protestantism and established a school where he met Shmouneh, the daughter of Hanna Murad Canoon. She was born in year 1887 in a nearby town called Azekh into a Syriac Orthodox family. She was one of his students and he was taken by her intelligence, honesty, and righteousness and they soon got married. According to many historians, the Syriac Orthodox Christians spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.

In 1906, Moussa wanted to visit the Holy Land, however, the distance was significant and the state of transportation at that time was crude. The most common mode of transportation at the turn of that century was the horse and buggy. Despite the obstacles and the constant discouragement from his mother, he insisted on traveling to Jerusalem, so that he can be in the place where Christ first brought light into a world full of darkness. His wife also shared his desire and accompanied him on his journey.

After tremendous difficulties, they arrived at Jerusalem and went about touring the historical sites. Moussa was very much impressed by the city of Jerusalem and desired to live there. He told his wife that he would like to remain near Jesus’ tomb and the place where the savior of humanity walked and provided hope to the sinners. Shmouneh was startled by his proposal and asked him: “What about our families, land, and properties? Do we abandon our country in order to live in someone else’s?” He said to her: “I will miss my country, but I do not want to return to my birthplace for the time being. I would like to live in the Holy Land for a while. Life suits me fine here and I am closer to the traces of Jesus of Nazareth.” He refused to return to his country and enjoyed living in Palestine. They initially stayed in Bethlehem and then moved to Jerusalem.

Moussa Aleshi and his wife Shmouneh lived happily and gave birth to three daughters.

On June 1st, 1909, in Damascus Gate district area (Bab-al-Amud) in Jerusalem, they gave birth to a baby boy. To decide on a name, Moussa opened the Bible and pointed at a page without looking, his finger landed on the verse “Sometime later she had a son. He was given the name Solomon. The Lord Loved him.” (2 Samuel 12:24). They revised the chosen name and named him Saleem.

As money became scarce, Moussa felt that he must work to support his family. He was fortunate to find a job in the German Hospital of Jerusalem. He continued to work in the hospital as a nurse until 1911. At the early months of that year, Moussa received a letter from his father requesting his immediate return to his homeland. His father missed him so much and was afraid that he would pass on to the next life without having the opportunity to see him. Moussa desired to honor the wishes of his aging father, packed his belongings, and commenced the travel with his wife and children heading towards his homeland, where they can be united with family and friends. However, as they were passing through Beirut—at the time, a city under ottoman rule—one of Moussa’s daughters became ill. So, they took her to an American Mission physician. As she was recuperating, Moussa received word that his father has died. Moussa realized that it would be better to remain in Beirut for a while. They resided in the Mustaitbeh District in Beirut, and rented a house owned by Mr. Gergy Nasif.

In 1914 World War I broke out. Most people did not think that the war would last more than a few months. Unfortunately, they were wrong, and the war raged on with brutality for years. Money was running out from Moussa and hunger threatened the lives of his young children. To make things worse, Turkish soldiers were looking for men of Turkish citizenship to draft them into the army, so that they can fight alongside the Germans. Moussa looked for a place to hide from the Ottoman authorities and where he can work; he was fortunate to find a job at the American Print Shop of Beirut.

One day, circumstances made him take a walk during the night. As he was walking, he heard a harsh voice ordering him to stop. He was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and was taken to their headquarters, where his identity as a Turkish subject was discovered and he was forced to join the army. He was dressed up in a military uniform and was sent away to the war zone. Shmouneh was devastated and his children wept for him. The husband and father had disappeared from their lives and their future became uncertain. It was their fortune that when Moussa was taken, the war was about to end. When it ended, Moussa returned to his family and to his position at the print shop.

Moussa became ill with tuberculosis and died on December 25th, 1920. He was buried in the Hemlin Sanitarium, located in the town of Shebaniyeh near one of the mountaintops of Lebanon. He left behind a wife and five children: Saleem, Jamileh, Antoinette, Wadiaa, and Elisabat. Mother Shmouneh was now faced with the sole responsibility of supporting five children and had to make certain short-term decisions. She sent her two daughters Elisabat and Wadiaa to live with their aunt in Jerusalem; she sent Saleem and Antoinette to the American Mission orphanage in Ghazeer (near Beirut) while she accompanied her eldest daughter Jamileh to Tripoli.

Saleem remained in Ghazeer for a few months only, where he excelled in his studies and in sports—even though he was a little sickly. His health was a factor in leaving the school in 1921 and joining his mother and sister in Tripoli.

Soon after in 1922, he was sent to his aunt in Jerusalem and was placed in a school for a brief period and had to drop out because of his deteriorating health.
Most of 1923 was spent going back and forth between the hospital and his aunt’s place and his health worsened to the point that he neared death. However, Divine Providence protected him and cured his ailment.

On March 7th, 1923 Saleem became a Lebanese citizen, just as his mother had acquired it two years earlier per the Treaty of Lausanne which defined the borders of the modern Turkish Republic.