A Personal Narrative on My Journey
through the Middle East

Above left, Aleppo today and at right, metalcraft in the souk. Below is a portion of one of the balconies of the famed Ahmed Al Hafez guest house where Homer Davenport stayed. The original was immense structure but only part remains.

Morning of November 6 found us in a downtown Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria and famous to Al Khamsa enthusiasts from past western travelers and writers. We had the traditional breakfast of a tasty white salty cheese and pita bread which was dipped into a sweet grain porridge and washed down with the traditional sweet tea. After breakfast we had an interesting tour of the Aleppo Museum of Antiquities. A whole article could be done separately on the archeological finds presented to us and we learned many intriguing things about the ancient aspect of the area of greater Syria including its tribes and horses. One thing of note on this visit was the recent discovery of what is believed to be the oldest library of stone tablets the Ebla tablets, the work of a joint effort between Syrian and Japanese archaeologists.

After this interesting museum visit we had a short period in one of the local souks for gift buying. I purchased an ornate hand-stitched vest which I wore throughout much of the remainder in Syria. Directly across from the souk was the citadel of Aleppo an imposing ancient high-walled castle like structure which reminded us of the citadel aspects of old Damascus.

We then visited the Umayyid Mosque in Aleppo where Zachariah, father of John the Baptist is buried. Removing our shoes, we walked through the large sunlit stone courtyard randomly punctuated by worshipers and visitors. This is one of the popular “must-see” sights for tourists as well as religious travelers and it is magnificent in its architecture and atmosphere. Adding to the extraordinary atmosphere of this site was a blind man seated on a small stool in the middle of the courtyard singing in a sharply melodic voice passages from the Koran.

Of interest to Al Khamsa enthusiasts, the Aleppo city tour was rounded out by an enjoyable visit to the Madafah (guest house) of Sheykh Ahmad Al-Hafez a portion of which still stands. The original structure was immense. This is where Homer Davenport was a guest during his famed expedition to acquire Arabian horses in 1906. I should indicate here that traveling with us throughout most of this trip were various relatives of the Al-Hafez family as listed earlier in this article. What was especially historic was that upon visiting this residence, an elderly woman greeted us who turned out to be the last living grandchild of Sheykh Ahmad Al-Hafez.
 

This picture was actually taken back in Damascus at the AHHA meeting but is appropriate here as a gathering of members of the Al-Hafez family. From left to right: in dark suit Muhammad Ali-Al Hafez, behind him in the white cap, Abdul Latif Al Hafez, in grey suit, Abd-Al Muttalib Al-Hafez, (in beard Jerry Dirks AHHA Vice-president), and holding book at right, Mohammed Fayad Al-Hafez. The book he is holding is the original copy of Homer Davenport’s My Quest of the Arabian Horse which Davenport had autographed and sent to Sheykh Ahmad Al-Hafez.

After an enjoyable day touring the sites of Aleppo we returned to the hotel for some rest and recuperation before going on to the next stop which was to see the horses of some of the Aleppo area breeders which were presented at the Aleppo Chivalry Club.

This facility is a full equestrian facility with excellent stabling and a race track around the large arena where the horses were presented to us. Photo opportunities were not the best as we were running out of daylight prematurely because of an approaching storm. Interestingly I managed to get a picture of one of the stallions, a bay Saqlawi Jidran, just as lightning struck in the background. Stallions only were presented here and they were brought to this facility by area breeders for our viewing. A number of them were bred by Mustafa Al Jabri. He is the largest Asil breeder in Aleppo with nearly 175 horses including foals. Most of these stallions were in excellent race training condition. One 23 year old chestnut stallion had been a winner of 30 kilometer races and was in excellent condition for an aged horse. After being presented in hand the stallions were turned out together in the infield of the race track which made for a dramatic show of natural racing, the bay Saqlawi Jedran seemed to demand the lead.

A 3 year old Hamdani Al-Efrieh brother to the Al Khamsa foundation horse Ta’an being examined by Ahmad wearing Randall Harris’s hat.	A 3 year old Kuhaylan Jilfan stallion bred by Mustafa Al-Jabri who is the breeder of Ta’an.

After the horse presentation we returned to the Chivalry Club dining facility for a very enjoyable evening banquet hosted by the Aleppo area breeders. This delicious feast was complete with an Arabic band of musicians with a lead singer performing Arabic songs for us. After the meal was finished and it was time to enjoy the music some of the men got up and danced traditional dances. Never one to miss out on the fun, I joined in and tried my best to dance their traditional step which brought smiles but also much laughter. This was the evening of November 6 and the celebration went late into the night. I had previously, in private conversation, mentioned to Basil Jadaan that tomorrow I would be celebrating my 50th birthday and much to my surprise, a few minutes after midnight the lights went dark and the lead singer of the band started singing happy birthday to me in Arabic as the chef brought out several cakes with candles. I was most grateful and it added some excitement to the evening’s festivities. Again I was asked to get up and dance a birthday celebration dance and again there was much laughter.

Al-Aawar, 23 year old Hamdani Ibn Ghorab stallion. Winner of 30 kilometer races. In excellent shape for his age.	Premature darkness sets in as the thunderstorm approaches making this my last but mysterious picture, a bay Saqlawi Jidran stallion.

It was now the very early morning of November 7 and we were boarding the bus for the long journey, crossing the Euphrates river, and on to the northern desert region of Jezirah to begin our tribal visits but there were fond memories for all of us of our festive time in Aleppo.

It was a long bus journey through the desert and occasionally we would see very small ensembles of three or four adobe style dwellings sometimes with tents nearby and an occasional scattering of horses shackled out. We stopped along the narrow highway through the region at the midway point and an interesting thing happened. We could not have been off of the bus for more than 5 or 10 minutes when from some huts in the distance came a father and son Bedouin contingent with a platter full of glasses of fresh tea for us. This was a sampling of Bedouin generosity and hospitality we were about to experience.

The Tai tribe’s tent. Assembled from 4 different photos, this gives the reader some idea of the scope of this tent as well as of this event. There are many people behind the tent and many more on the roof of the quonset building to the right. Behind me is a huge open stretch of terrain marked off by flags for racing over various distances. The racing field is also lined with many tribesmen.

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