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25 September 1879 — Damascus | |
Thursday. 25th September [1879]. Wassif Effi came to call & breakfasted with us & then we had a quantity of things brought from the Bazaars to be sold & each man laid his wares out on the floor round the room & then squatted down patiently beside them. We went out on mule back round the bazaars wh were wonderfully picturesque. The metal shops & the saddler’s shops were amongst the most brilliant. There were no end of picturesque costumes. Henry recd a great many visits & paid his to Midhat. In the afternoon we drove thro’ the town with Midhat to see it & he stayed & dined with us & afterwards took us to the Arabic theatre—a very primitive place more like a barn than anything else. We sat in the front row & the gentlemen had their nargilehs & coffee & sherbets– The orchestra consisted of 3 people—one playing an instrument like a zither—another who played a kind of guitar & another who sang & played a tambourine. They sat in a little niche on one side of the room where they cd hardly see the stage– The play was very solemn & dull—it was declaimed in verse in a monotonous way like the old greek plays & had its chorus &c. The women were represented by young boys—no Mohammaden woman being permitted to appear– The story was a Dervish in search for his son goes to the Court there in a mean capacity he finds him & he eventually marries the Sultan’s daughter. We returned home abt 11.30. | |
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