Syria to Cedar Rapids, working with stone to God's glory

CEDAR RAPIDS (The Gazette) — A rare art form — made even more challenging by the dangers in a war-torn country — has made its way to a Cedar Rapids church. Piece by piece since mid-November, Soleiman Shalhoub, 48, has been installing a stone iconostasis, a room-wide screen separating the sanctuary from the nave, at St. George Orthodox Church, 3650 Cottage Grove Ave. SE. Shalhoub, whose Shalhoub Trading Co. is based in Damascus, Syria, began the project with a crew of 15 employees in January, drawing designs by hand and meticulously carving the marble-like Syria stone, quarried from mountains in the Holy Land. 

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