Henry Gemayel: The Gem Society, Lebanese hospitality in Athens

Henry Gemayel, now a hotelier and more, is calm and composed. A faint smile plays at the corner of his lips as he speaks slowly, welcoming us into his four-star hotel in the heart of Athens. After years of struggle to establish his project in a country he barely knew — and where he knew almost no one — the man is now content. The Gem Society is thriving, even ahead of the peak tourist season.His decision to leave Lebanon, like many others, stemmed from fatigue, disenchantment and exhaustion — a desire to see how a “normal” world functions. A consultant in the restaurant industry with a background in hospitality, Gemayel always knew he would eventually pursue something in that field. With the encouragement of his wife, graphic designer Nathalie Fallaha and mother of his two daughters, he first set out as an explorer.Gemayel traces the...