A Personal Narrative on My Journey
through the Middle East

Like an Adonis, a young grey Kuhaylan Dajani stallion at Hisham Ghrayeb’s stud. Mr. Ghrayeb and his sons are great horsemen and breed for performance and racing. The Ghrayeb herd is notable for its depth and strength yet with classic Arabian nobility and character.

After the horse presentation attendants swiftly brought in tables and set up a feast in the guests tent. Again very delicious Middle Eastern cuisine was enjoyed. But as the sun set it was time again to board the bus for Damascus. At dark we visited one more Damascus area breeder who treated us to a fine show of horses and some fresh fruit and tea and then it was back to the bus.

Upon returning to the Carlton hotel we took time for some rest and recuperation. Then we were off again for a unique evening in Damascus. This time we received a motor tour of the city leading up to an extraordinary visit to Qusiyoun Mountain. The mountain is located on the edge of Damascus and the location where we stopped looked down on the entire city of 4.5 million people. It was a memorable mountain top view that we would not forget.

November 5 brought another day of adventure. It was now time for us to begin our journey northward, leaving Damascus, making some interesting stops along the way with the evening destination being Aleppo. We boarded the bus following by another bus for our luggage and headed northeast. The Ministry had generously provided for our transportation throughout our travels and we were fortunate to have two buses and guides for our travels. They also thought it appropriate to give us some interesting historical stops along the way. The first of these was a stop in the Christian village Sayad Naya where we visited a church that is also a convent. Shortly afterward, we visited the village of Maaloula. Set into a small mountainside, the village is quite ancient and what is most intriguing is that the language spoken there is Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke. There was a large church of St. Takla set into the mountainside. We climbed the steps to enter it and observed the unique and colorful chapel inside with old paintings of the Blessed Mary as well as a very ornate alter and chandeliers. The tall wooden doors are decorated with copper bas relief of biblical scenes. Beside the church is an enormous fissure or narrow canyon about 20 feet wide which passes completely through the mountain and had apparently served as an escape route for St. Takla when he was being pursued during historic times. Prior to coming to Syria I did not realize that approximately 12 percent of the country is Christian.
 

Above is the Christian church we visited in the ancient village of Sayd Naya. You can barely see our group attempting to ascend the many steps. After this visit we visited the village of Maaloula where Aramaic is still spoken, the language that Jesus spoke. In Maaloula we visited the church of St. Takla, set into a mountain and after climbing many flights of stairs one arrives at a site where a mountain stream trickles “holy water” into a small fountain with a metal bowl for visitors to drink from. Being one who likes to partake in whatever culture I am visiting, I partook of the water. At right is a sample of the beautiful copper relief sculptures that decorated the wooden doors of the church of St. Takla.

We made a stop in the city of Homs, 3rd largest city in Syria, which was once a major metropolis during Roman times. Noteworthy of our visit here was a tour of the Khalid Ben Al-Walid Mosque in the city. Characteristic Islamic architecture defines the look of this mosque. Its clean open courtyard and serene tall ceilings provide a place of tranquility in a busy city.

Our next stop outside of Homs was an enjoyable visit to Abdul Muhsen Nassif’s stud of Arabians. Bedouin from the area and breeders of Homs were on hand for this visit. Approaching this setting by bus was an interesting sight as we traveled through a large open agrarian area where people were working in the field gleaning grain. From the bus window I observed villagers carrying bread on their heads. The fields were also occasionally punctuated by black tents with sheep nearby.
 

A hospitable “Bedu” tent erected for the guests of Abdul Muhsen Nassif and the breeders of Homs. Here we had a chance to feast bedouin style. Abdul Muhsen Nassif gave each one of us Kafiyas and Galabayas (robes) to wear in keeping with the tradition.

Arriving at Abdul Muhsen Nassif’s stud we noticed immediately that a Bedouin tent was erected for the guests alongside Mr. Nassif’s dramatic residence, artistically constructed of various kinds of stone and marble. 

We first walked through the stables with Abdul Muhsen Nassif and observed the horses in their stalls. Then outside in front of the stable, horses were presented one by one, identified by strain and then turned out into a huge paddock. Some of the strains presented here include: Saqlawi Marzakani, Muniqi Jaluda (the last mare of this particular family), Muniqi Sbaili, Kuhaylat Armousheh, Abayyan Seheili, Kuhaylat Tuwaysa, Kuhaylat Hablani (a strain from the Amarat tribe), and Hamdani Simri. An interesting note here is that a Hamdani Simri mare was presented to us which had the bloody shoulder marking. When we inquired about it we were told that it is referred to as a “splash of blood” and that it is not esteemed regardless of where it appears on a horse. For superstitious reasons it used to be thought of as the “blood of the rider.” But in actuality it has no effect on the quality of the horse. This was a very fine group of mares presented to us.
 

Aishia, a lovely 18 year old chestnut Muniqiyah Sbailiyah mare in the presentation of horses at Abdul Muhsen Nassif’s stable. He is a member of the Naim tribe.

As the presentation was completed we returned to the tent for our Bedouin feast of “Mensaf” (a huge round metal tray of rice blended with peas and pine nuts and topped by the major portion of a freshly roasted whole lamb). First, each of us was given the traditional Galabaya and Kafiya (robe and head dress) to wear before beginning the feast. A number of large round platters of Mensaf were set down on the carpets in the tent for groups to surround and dine from. Although plates and utensils were put out for the guests, by the time of this visit I could wait no longer to eat in the true Bedouin style with my right hand the way that I was taught at Dr. Hani Hijazi’s in Jordan. Our Bedouin hosts seemed pleased with my food grabbing efforts. This was great fun for me.

After the feast we enjoyed viewing how coffee is prepared Bedouin style. It was intriguing to observe. First the beans are roasted dry in a metal pan over the fires then poured into a large old wooden cylinder. A long wooden rod is inserted into the cylinder and the coffeemaker proceeds to pound and pound to a fascinating rhythm as though performing music. We were told that this sound was traditionally the call to coffee in the desert. Wherever travelers heard this sound it was to be taken as an invitation to come to the encampment for coffee.
 

Traditional Bedouin coffeemaking. Above left, pan roasting, above right pouring the roasted beans into the urn and below, the rhythmic grinding.

As darkfall came is was time once again for us to say good-bye to our generous hosts and board the bus for the final leg of this day’s journey to end in Aleppo. We made an evening stop in the ancient Roman city of Hamma where there are Roman aqueducts and wooden water wheels which are still in operation since the times of the Roman empire. Set on the Orontes River, which according to Basil Jadaan is referred to as “the river that doesn’t behave” because it is the only river in Syria that travels from south to north, these huge wooden water wheels emit an eerie groaning sound which has been heard here since the Middle Ages. Basil Jadaan indicated that Hamma became the primary market area of the Sebaa tribe and they visited the souks and conducted business in this area for a long time.

We boarded the bus again in the dark to press on to Aleppo. Reflecting the festive and fun-loving spirit of our hosts we made a brief stop while several of our hosts got out and listening to a radio station playing Arabic music began to do a traditional dance for us, four men in a circle with a cane. It was such fun to watch and brought great levity. Then finally late on the evening of November 5, we arrived at the Pullman Shahba hotel in Aleppo and checked in.

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