Dear Mrs. Hayat and Ramzi’s Family, It is really a tough exercise to try to contain in few words our feelings towards a dear and great friend such as Ramzi, I met him for the first time in İstanbul where I was posted, a city that he kept on visiting after years of his magnificent achievement in making the famous ciragan palace and its connecting kempinski hotel synonyms to the Bosphorus itself ... This first meeting and the beautiful chemistry that animated our discussion, made all our next ones part of his frequent visits to Istanbul... Ramzi was one of the most stimulating minds I have ever met, he managed in a brilliant manner to combine deep talks and pleasant moments, humble, eloquent, joyful and very appreciative of every creative idea or project ... his smiling smart eyes used to say it all ... We kept on meeting after I came back to Beirut, and he was among the first eminent friends who visited me in Palais Bustros in order to congratulate my recent nomination at a key posting in Foreign Affairs ... Later on my wife and daughters had the great pleasure to meet him in Marbella when he invited us over lunch to his house where the full hospitality of Mrs Hayat made that day memorable for them ... Last Christmas he called me and I felt he wasn’t feeling well, but nevertheless he asked me about a project he had in mind ... When I heard the sad news, I realized that I lost a precious part of my rituals, talking to Ramzi and sitting with him and fine tuning my choices and decisions while asking for his wisdom and unbeatable wittiness ... I also couldn’t alleviate the sad moments that my wife and 3 daughters went through when I have informed them ... My late father was born in 1937 too, with the passing away of Ramzi (habibi as he used to call me) I lost another one ! May your beautiful Soul rest in peace ... Until we meet again ... thank you for what you were, and for what you valuably added in our lives... We all love you habibi Ramzi ! Hani , Rola, Dana, Sima, Reem CHEMAITELLY.