Aleppo Wedding - Chapter 3

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:28:43 +0000

Some weeks later his mother announced, over lunch as usual, that she had found a suitable flat for him nearby, and he must take time to see it. She had also arranged for him to see four girls, any one of whom she would be happy to have as a daughter-in-law. Nury had a strong feeling that anyone he married would all too soon be revealed to his mother as unsatisfactory in one way or another, but he held his tongue and agreed to spend the next few weeks in active search of a wife.
His eldest sister, Selwa, visited in the evening, accompanied by her inoffensive husband, who had been picked out as suitable by his mother but whose charms had faded rapidly, at least as far as Im Nury was concerned. Poor Hanni became quite tongue-tied in her presence these days, as he was always aware that she was taking critical notice of him, and would soon be asking whether Selwa was pregnant yet. Over the five years of their marriage the questions and remarks had become less general and more pointed, with illustrations from their own family to show that it couldn’t be Selwa’s fault. As Hanni came from a family of eleven children, he was inclined to believe that shortage of children wasn’t hereditary in his family either. However the knowledge that nothing short of high explosive would stop her combined with a disinclination for open warfare to keep him quiet, at least in her presence.
Sometimes Hanni had opened up a little to Nury, over a cup of coffee at the pharmacy, and Nury had been able to divine some of the trials he endured from remarks like,
“Your mother, a very good woman of course, but she does make an issue of things, doesn’t she?” delivered in an apologetic tone. Now Nury watched his mother and sister talking together and realised with something of a shock that they seemed to be growing more alike every day. It occurred to him to feel rather sorry for Hanni, and the same train of thought led him to think that he had better have a good look at the girls’ mothers to see what the future could hold for him.
That had been Tuesday, and it was the Friday of the same week that Nury was taken by his mother to make the first formal visit to see a ’suitable’ girl. Until now he had maintained an air of detached amusement towards the goings-on, but it came to him as he was knotting his tie that this was serious, and he was really going to have to share his life with someone else. It suddenly seemed very close, and he felt a sense of imprisonment and lost opportunities so strongly that he was tempted to tell his mother that he had changed his mind. The thought of what his mother would say, and at what length she would say it, soon routed the temptation, and he decided that no harm would be done by going with her just this once.

Aleppo Wedding - Chapter 2

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:10:16 +0000

Taking lack of opposition for encouragement, his mother went right on to talking about how soon they could find him an apartment (nearby), how much his father would have to pay for it, and how many rooms it must have. By the time his youngest sister had been sent to make the coffee, his mother had got as far as listing the various furniture makers from whom one would be chosen to make the furniture for the elder son of Mustapha Bey. All this time, his father had continued with his lunch, apparently barely listening to what his wife said, as he usually did. However Nury knew that his father was not as absent-minded as he liked people to think, and not for the first time he wondered what was going on behind the calm, broad face, dark brown eyes and neat white moustache which was presented to the world.
Later in the afternoon during a quiet spell in the pharmacy, Nury began to think about Sarah, who had been his girlfriend for his last two years in England. She had been quiet and fair-haired, and had clearly found him good company, but neither of them had wanted to live in a foreign country so when it came time for him to go home they had made light of it, and settled for sentimental goodbyes. He had occasionally thought since, that if she had pushed him a bit more he might have stayed, and wondered at the same time if he could have put more effort into persuading her to come. Still, it was all history now, no sense in looking backwards.
A harassed woman carrying a sick baby distracted him with a prescription to be made up, and after that he had no more time for nostalgic reflections because the doctors’ clinics were beginning to empty out and he was busy until it was time to close.
It took his mother and sisters only a few days to start on what was, for them the most exciting part of the business of finding the right girl. Having, through listening to the coffee-morning gossip and consulting with friends and relations (female), eliminated all but a ’short list’ of girls who could be considered possible, they started visiting the families of the girls, to get a good look at the girls themselves, their relations and their style of life. It involved much preparation of makeup, jewellery and smartest clothes beforehand, and almost unlimited discussion afterwards. As Nury had said no more than ‘Hello’ to most of the girls when they had visited his sisters, and there were on the list several he had never seen, he was able to take a detached interest in the proceedings which quite surprised him.

Aleppo Wedding 1

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:53:29 +0000

Nury was nearly thirty years old, five foot eight in his socks, with wavy
brown hair and a good-tempered face. He was quiet, but pleasant and often
amusing company so he had had no difficulty picking up the threads of schoolboy friendships since his return four years ago from studying in England. His life revolved, quietly but very comfortably, round his own small pharmacy, his parent’s home and those of his relations, and the coffee houses where he met his friends to drink coffee, gossip and play backgammon.
The only changes which the last year had made to his routine had come about because one after another of his friends had abandoned the male stronghold of the coffee house and got married, whereupon they had taken to spending their evenings at home. His mother was also beginning to eye him speculatively, and he knew she was looking out for a suitable girl for him to marry. As for himself, he could appreciate the advantages of having a wife to come home to, but his imagination refused to make the leap from the general idea to any particular girl. There were plenty of pretty girls about, but none of them had yet triggered in him the rainbow-in-the-sky-accompanied-by-heavenly-voices reaction, which he secretly believed would herald the arrival of True Love.
He did not dare to discuss his feelings with anybody for fear of being laughed at, so in the end he did not positively object when, over lunch one day, his mother announced it was time he got married. He looked at his father to see his reaction, but Abu Nury, who had a forkful of food half way to his mouth, continued to eat, carefully chewing, swallowing and finishing with a sip of water before acknowledging the idea with a non-committal ‘Humph’. His two unmarried sisters were watching him with interest, and he knew that as soon as lunch was over they would be telephoning his married sister to spread the news and to start discussing potential candidates for the job.

Local Cuisine 2

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 10:17:20 +0000

It’s almost the end of February, and I’m glad I’ve finished one of the Good Housewife’s jobs - making the fruit syrup for the summer. Other (better) housewives make these syrups of almost anything sweet that comes along - oranges, mulberries, sour cherries and rose petals are some - but I only do lemons, and this is how: Take as many lemons as you\ have patience for, sugar, a plastic bowl, a grater and a juicer.Wash and dry the lemons. If they aren’t waxed a rinse will do, if waxed it’s up to you how keen you are, but don’t kill yourself.Separate out one third of the lemons and juice the rest, then carefully grate off as much of the zest as you easily can from the remaining lemons and put it into a separate bowl, ideally one with a lid if you happen to have one.Juice these lemons as well.Measure the total juice, then use some of it to soak the lemon zest, just make sure it is well covered. Put a lid on the zest and juice and store it in the fridge for now.Pour the rest of the juice into your plastic bowl and add sugar. The quantity is one and a half times sugar to juice, i.e. one jug of lemon needs one and a half jugs of sugar (remembering to count in the amount you took off for the zest).Put in a warm place and stir every time you pass it, the warmer the place, the quicker it will work, over a radiator or in a airing cupboard would be good.When all the sugar has dissolved, take the juice plus zest from the fridge and squeeze the oil from the zest. This is a lovely, aromatic job, and I always pour the mixture through a fine sieve and squeeze the residue dry once or twice.Take your lovely, lemony juice and swirl it into the finished syrup.Test by putting about two fingers of syrup into an ordinary water glass, filling with water and drinking. You can serve it as strong as you like, and ice is good.Put it into bottles.Store it in a cool place.

Local Cuisine

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:17:57 +0000

Most people in that part of the area to the east of the Mediterranean think of Aleppo as the ‘foodie’ capital of the region. The cuisine is partly based on dishes that subsistance farmers have developed over hundreds, or even thousands, of years. These are almost always vegetarian, using things like lentils, wheat and the sort of beans that go into tins of baked beans, plus fresh vegetables and olive oil. A favourite of mine is Mjedera, where you take equal amounts of burghul and brown lentils, and as much onion as you can be bothered to chop. You soak the lentils, then rinse them and simmer them in a good-sized pan until they are cooked but still in their skins. After that, you rinse the burghul, add it to the lentils and cook the two together with a good sprinkling of salt - the burghul doesn’t take long. While this is going on you fry the onions in olive oil, and just before serving you pour the fried onions and the oil over the burghul and lentils and stir it in. It is good with natural yoghurt or with salad, depending on the time of the year. Eating this dish, you know you are part of a very ancient tradition, perhaps going back almost to the time when your ancestors first settled down and started planting fields instead of foraging and hunting.

The Spinning Mill – Chapter 1

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:38:59 +0000

The Spinning Mill – Chapter 1

Rug designer do not just make the rugs, we’re also yarn manufacturers and offer the carpet industry an array of wool and wool mix yarn counts.

First the wool is prepared. The processes of opening, cleaning and mixing or blending occur simultaneously. Opening refers to separating small clumps of fibres within a mass of fibres, cleaning to trash removal, and mixing or blending to combining fibres from different bales to achieve a homogeneous starting material. These functions are not completed, however during fibre preparation they continue during subsequent processes.

Aleppo - Chapter 3

admin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:36:47 +0000

The City of Aleppo is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world and has been occupied from around 5000 BC. William Shakespeare makes reference to the city in his famous play “Macbeth”.
The City lies 379 metres above sea level on a small group of hills with the Quweq river running through its centre. The Citadel dominates the view from a partially artificial mound rising 50 metres above the city.
The Arabic name for Aleppo is Halab and ancient legend traces this name back to Halib the Arabic word for milk. According to legend the prophet Abraham milked his cow on the hills of the citadel and gave the milk to fellow travellers.
Aleppo traditionally flourished as a trading hub. Positioned on the famous Silk Road, the city served the routes coming from India and the Euphrates region and from Damascus to the south. The first European consulate – the Venetian – was established in Aleppo – a sign of the city’s commercial importance.
This trading route began to decline in importance when the Europeans began to use the cape route to India and later the route via the Suez Canal.

Aleppo - Chapter 2

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:16:11 +0000

Aleppo’s most famous monument is the Citadel which dominates the skyline from partially man-made hill rising 50 meters above the main streets of the city centre. The present day construction dates back to the 13th century, although it was built on top of fortifications of many previous eras. With a garrison capable of housing 10,000 soldiers, a moat and a bridge it is considered one of the most spectacular fortresses of the Middle East and is a focal point for tourists. The surrounding area of the citadel has undergone extensive renovation in recent years to make it more attractive to tourists.

Aleppo the city our rugs are made - Chapter 1

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:59:40 +0000

When you think of the Orient the perfumes of Aleppo come to mind, reminding us of one of the oldest cities in the world with roots extending deep back into the history of the Samarians, Akadians, Ayyubids, Romans and Byzantines and finally the Islamic Arab civilisation which has had profound influens on the culture and fabric of Aleppo society.
The formidable Citadel, just 5 miles away from our factory, is situated on a steep hill in the centre of the old city, is a symbol of extraordinary human acheivement.In addition the wealth of mosques and churches, monastories, shools, khans and the old city itself are witness to the past greatness and prosperity of its people.

Tufting

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:44:00 +0000

All the modern rugs you see on line are hand tufted rugs, however the definition of tufting is a Pile consisting of tufts or loops formed by inserting a yarn into a previously prepared backing fabric.
The yarn forming the pile stands verticle to the base or ground. The pile is cut and the backing fabric is woven. Parallel rows of stitches can be seen on the back of tufted fabric. So a thin coating of of adhesive is applied to the back to hold the pile yarns in place. Once the rug is sheered and the adhesive is dried it’s ready to be sent to the customer.