Devotions: Wisdom from the Cradle of Civilization

by Olivier Föllmi, Danielle Föllmi (Editor)

Wisdom from the Cradle of Civilization is the sixth installment in Danielle and Olivier Föllmi’s project Offerings for Humanity, which spans the world’s cultures and traditions. In this new volume, the authors have traveled the Middle East and captured images from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and many other places. As in the other books, each photograph is accompanied by a quote for each day of the year. Devotions presents not only religious quotes taken from the Koran, the Hebraic tradition, and Eastern Christianity, but also from noted authors such as the Sufi poet and jurist Rumi, the Persian writer and mathematician Omar Khayyám, and the Lebanese-American artist Khalil Gibran. A daily dose of wisdom coupled with breathtaking photography, Devotions allows readers to move a little closer to the heart of the wisdom found in the Cradle of Civilization.

768 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

About the author

Olivier Föllmi willingly describes himself as a “world photographer”.

Profoundly impressed by the Himalayan world, he and his wife, Danielle, founded their family by adopting four Tibetan children. They have also created an educational aid association in the Himalayas : HOPE. This love story has become world renown and has received some of the most prestigious awards.

It was in developing a passion for other lands that Olivier Föllmi has become a great “traveling photographer”. This is the price in which “to have something to share, to say and to show. A perfect photo, but devoid of sense, will never equal a blurry photo with a touching message".

Each of their travels gave birth to a book with photos and texts that are a veritable ode to life and the means to share the emotion with the greatest number of people.