Book excerpt: Celebrated master calligrapher Hassan Massoudy carries the desert within him. Through majestic, sweeping strokes, he depicts its breath-taking beauty and wonder. Massoudy draws inspiration from the words and wisdom of some of our greatest poets and writers – Rumi, Paul Bowles, Goethe, Baudelaire, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Khalil Gibran – who have lost themselves in the mysteries of the desert. Beautifully illustrated, Calligraphies of the Desert offers inspiration for meditation. Speaking to the senses, it is a treasure for travellers, poets and dreamers.