Inside a nearby church, scribbles over dozens of pages in a prayer book reflect a city anxious about the future.

WSJ: Strife Is Closer to Home in Damascus

"I actually have my boarding pass framed now, and it's sitting on my desk, right next to a little prayer book I keep with its page turned to Psalm 23, " he said.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

And as I become more advanced on computers, maybe I'll start a Web site and share a message or have a prayer, promote my book.

CNN: The freed man

There is a lock of hair, the chemise Marie-Antoinette wore in the Temple prison, and the tiny prayer book in which she penned a final message to her children.

ECONOMIST: Marie-Antoinette

In the sixteenth century, the wide circulation of English Bible translations and the Book of Common Prayer brought a new degree of standardization.

NEWYORKER: Globish For Beginners

In Damascus, the traditions of Ramadan are as old as the Koran, Islam's holy book: a month of introspection and prayer, no food or water from sunup to sundown.

NPR: Arab TV Show Dramatizes Lives of Suicide Bombers

Last year the auction house sold a collection of Gandhi material, including his glasses and prayer book.

BBC: Gandhi letter

Last year the auction house sold a collection of Gandhi material, including his glasses and prayer book, which Mr Westwood-Brookes called "highly important".

BBC: Mahatma Gandhi letter to be auctioned in Shropshire

He sat at the table reading a book, his back straight, his head bent as if in prayer.

NEWYORKER: Temporary

Littrell said he doesn't recall meeting Jenkins, but wanted the 22-year-old to have the prayer book after having many conversations over the years with his father, Tom, a former co-worker.

WSJ: Prayer book has 150-year history with NY warriors