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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1961-01-12, Page 6They Refused To Be Photographed Long before I came to the Mid die.Elast the City Of Aleppo ex- pressed too me a sense of .mystery and romance, Its very name. rolled on the tongue, connoted the soft red leather and. aroma of spices for which Aleppo's miles of covered markets are famous. Now that. I have learned the city somewhat, its fascination re- mains, To me it seems more pure. ly Arab and Eastern than either Damascus or. Cairo, and certainly .Aleppo is far 'more attractive than mud -built Baghdad, capital of Iraq.' For one thing, Aleppo is off the beaten track, It takes a major effort to reach it. From Dames- sus, straight north, it is an all- day drive through the plains of Syria, pausing long enough to stand in wonder before the giant Water wheels of Hama, lifting water with a majestic rush of sound from river to high aque- duct, and thence to the fields. Shortly before dusk, with the mountains of southern Turkey in plain view to the north, Aleppo spreads gray -white before the eye in a shallow bowl of land, dominated, as for centuries past, by the towering Citadel in the center of the city. Having driven so far north, the weather is cold. When we left Beirut just before Thanksgiving, - the weather was almost warm enough for swimming. In Aleppo the Arabs walked about muffled, and in the souk Shepherds from the desert haggled over heavy coats of sheep's wool, worn skin - side -out, to protect them from the icy blasts that sweep across the north Syrian plains. Aleppo is cold in another way, for its people tend to be suspi- cious of foreigners. For many miles around the city is sur- rounded by "beehive" villages, whose mud houses spiral upward in tall, conical shapes, wondrous- ly harmonious, rising from the plains. Yet each time I asked to re- cord these villages on color film, the answer was no. Smiles faded and hostility appeared at sight of my camera. For years.I have photographed throughout the. Middle East and am well aware of the ordinary taboos. I wished merely to record a sense•of archi- tectural beauty and simplicity unusual in 'the West. But in vain, as also in the dim, covered souks of Aleppo. We en- tered a caravanserai, above whose cobblestoned square ani- mal skins dyed bright red hung to dry on ancient latticework be- neath a cloudless blue sky. What a picture! But I could not take it. Courteous faces of workers in the khan darkened at the sug- gestion. Officialdom in Aleppo is scarcely more reassuring. A jour- nalist colleague of mine, who writes for one of the most re- sponsible papers in Britain, was expelled from Aleppo a few weeks ago for reasons undis- closed. This did not happen to me, but, as a journalist, I was required by the Aleppo security police to fur- nish, not only full particulars of myself, but the first names of my mother and father, and first names of my wife's mother and father. Not maiden names of the mothers concerned; just first names. If there is system and method in this, it eludes me, writes Harry B. Ellis in the Christian Science Monitor. AIeppo is work to visit, but the rewards are great. There is a saying in Persia: "See Isfahan and die," meaning that once the beauties of that lovely city have been viewed, mortal existence has little left to offer. I would 'STREET SCENE IN STRIFE -TORN ALGIERS — A building burns in the background as frightened Moslem children rush for shelter during an outbreak of violence in Algiers. French gendarmes opened fire on a mob of thousands of Moslems gathered inthe centre of the city where they shouted slogans of the rebels who have bottled French troops for six years. Five previous days of bloodshed left 122 persons dead and 2,000 injured. ' IN THE MOOD — Sophia Loren proves she's one of the last big spenders by carrying wish her from Rome to Madrid an en- tourage of people to satisfy her every whim. Included is a mu- sician to provide her with mood music. She's in Madrid to star. with Charleton Heston in "Eli Cid." agree that Isfahan is perhaps the most beautiful single place of human habitation I have seen: But it might be said with equal meaning: "Whoso would understand Syria, must know Al-. eppo." In thatknowing, the trav- eler becomes aware of the vast- ness of the Syrian 'plains, and glimpses what is means to the farmers of northern Syria when rain' fails to fall in sufficient quantity on those dusty lands, as it has failed to fall for: the past three years. The traveler sees also in Alep- po's covered markets perhaps the Middle East's most variegated, complex, and marvelous souks, in which he may wander a full day, as we did, without seeing another Westerner. And the trav- eler learns also why the citizens of Aleppo — rugged, shrewd, in- sular, suspicious — traditionally have been tough nuts for Syrian governments in Damascus to crack. Perhaps the biggest advantage to the metallic type of Christmas tree is that you will not find hundreds of them discarded in the streets during the six months following the holiday season, ROONEY AND SON Mickey Rooney and his son, Timmy, 13, appeartogether' in "The Big Bankroll," being filmed in,Holly- wood, Holly'wood, They play a split role Timmy takes the boy's part and Mickey the grown-up part. Mickey is made up, HRONICLLS %INGERFARM Gaaed.ol[n¢D. Claeke How do you feel about neigh- bours dropping in unexpected- ly? Do you take it as a friendly gesture or as interferences'? And what is your attitude. towards newcomers? If strangers move into your district are you con- cerned about their comings and goings - and let them know it?. I am asking these questions be- cause of a letter thatappeared in a Toronto paper just recently that illustrates so vividly similar situations that ' I have come across by living in different dis- tricts, some by personal experi- ence, othersby observation. It concerns people who move to the country to "get away from it all" only to find themselves more involved with others than they ever were before. It all 'arises.. from a misconception of country living. I sin going to quote parts of the letter because I know it will be of interest to urban and • rural folk alike. Here is the . letter — in part. "I am a retired single woman, in good health with a pension that lives me enough to -live on. I bought a house and garden on the outskirts of a village a dream come true. I love to gar- den and with my cat and dog' for compan,y it should be an ideal existence. But my neigh- bours make -it impossible. Every- one knows everyone else's busi- ness. I like to keep my business to myself. I don't wish to be pried and spied upon. One morn- ing I did not open my drapes as usual. At noon a' neighbour came over to' see if 'I wgs 'all right. Said • she was worried because my,`'' curtains were drawn but I know it was 'just an excuse to Come to the door,, hoping to be invited. in so she :could see the inside of my house. How can I keep my. neighbours at a 'dis- tance? I don't want to quarrel but I don't want them spying on. me or interefering with my life." "Miss. S. H." Well . what do you know! How would you like her for a neighbour? It so 'happens we have net that type, no doubt you .have too, but thank goodness, they are few and far between. Can't you just imagine the set-up . • . , a friend- ly little village ... and, as the letterwriter says, "everybody knowing everyone else's bus- iness", And pray, what's wrong with that? Have normal folk so much to hide they •need resent neighbourly interest? 01 course they haven't but that's something city folk have to learn. Friends living in a city apartment or a rented house have often told me they have never so much as spoken to the people next door. Obviously that also applies to "Miss. S. FI Then, without knowing anything about country living conditions She moves to a small village. The lady -editor, in reply to her letter, told "Miss S. H." she shouldbe glad of neighbour's interest; that she was taking the wrong attitude; that sometime, in the case of illness or accident, she might appreciate their inter- est, How -true. ' Now for a: few personal ob- servations that might come un- der the heading of "neighbours l have known". When we first came to this district a retired' couple were living on the property backing' our own. One day Mrs. said to me, "I almost phoned you this morning I noticed your light on in the middle of the night and wondered if anyone were sick." Did I feel spied upon? Indeed not. I felt that our wel- fare was of some concern to at least one neighbour. It was a comforting thought to a new- comer' in a strange -district. Later that same couple • moved away as their property was tak- en over for industrial purposes. Although our 'acquaintance was so recent we felt as if we had lost new-found, friends. Of course there is another type of interest — neighbours who watch tosee what goes into the house up the street from deliv- ery vans. Even that I don't classify as snooping. If you like your neighbour you take an in- terest in his .or her belongings. If a new washing machine goes to Mrs. B. you are glad You knew she had been having trou- ble with her old one. In the case of a car, interest runs sky- high. Every. one wants to know the make and the model. All such acquisitions eventually be- come topics of neighbourly dis- cussion. Even of greaterconcern. is the doctor's car. If:a doctor is seen going into a neighbour's driveway it' isn't long", before there are inquiries as to who is sick — and of course, an offer to help. M4ylje' I am wrong but I feel the•:! iy„kind of "interest” that shot fl be; resented is 'when a pertctn'de'liberately keepi tab on a rieaghbour for the purpose 'of spreading. ' ill- natured • gossip. That is unforgivable. Or when a neighbour Com es•too often and stays too long. That, too, is an infringement on one's privacy. There is a 'happy medium that can be determined by all parties concerned. A little tact, ' a• bit more. give .and take, an accept- ance of the true meaning of neighbourliness should make . for better relationship all round. 'Bye . must go, the doorbell is ringing probably a neigh- bour! That's right, I can. hear Partner saying - "Well, come on in!" Modern Etiquette By Anne Ashley Q. How many vegetables is it necessary to serve at a well prepared dinner? A. Two vegetables, usually. Q. My husband and I have been invited to a wedding, but I shall be unable to attend, Would it be prover for my bus. band to go alone? A. There is no reason in the world why your husbandshould not attend the wedding alone, if you find it impossible to<accom- pany him, Q. Are all the plates supposed to be remove( from the dinner table before serving the dessert? A. Yes. The salt cellars, pep' per -pots, unused flat, silver, are taken off on the serving tray, and the crumbs brushed off each place with a folded napkin onto a. tray held under the table's edge, ISSUE:I — LSBl H05 600 Wives And Wants Moro 1 A ruler who has a harem of 000 wives is so happy with his lot that he Is willing to accept still more brides, provided they are young and pretty, This modern Salomon is the Joon of Bikom, in the British Cameroons, who, although age- ing is so popular with his wives that they were recently up in arms when the United. Nations sought to restrict the size of the black monarch's harem. Revolt in the harem took the form of a petition, stained by the thunabmarks of 200..of the Eon's' principal wives, in which' they described the U,N, Trustee- ship Council as a pack of inter- fering busybodies, "Why do you want to interface. with such marital bliss as we enjoy?" they demanded. "We protest most strongly about the false news being spread around about our husband, He is a good man and faithful to all of us. We don't grudge sharing h among ourselves and welive very happily with him accord- ing to our native laws and etas - toms," Faced with this unexpected opposition from the Fon's wives, the United Nations decided they might be wrong to regard the matter / from a purely Western standpoint. Instead of improving conditions, they foresaw that any interference in the tribal cus- toms of the Bikonas could only result in discord, if not open rebellion, against the trusteeship authorities. So the matter stands, except for the fact that recruits for the Fon's harem are being actively sought in order to keep the har- em up to strength. Girls considered eligible for entry into the harem are usu- ally picked by headmen of the Fon's entourage who scour the territory, selecting a girl here and another there, In theory, a father's consent must be obtain, ed before the girl is taken off, but in practice parents hesitate about opposing the decision of the ruler's henchmen. Tribal custom permits the Fors to claim as wivesthe first-born daughters and all female twins within the tribe. Another method employed .by the harem's recruiting agents, is to scour around the mud-hut'.vil- iages, making a marls on certain houses to inform the occupants that an 'unsullied daughter of the family must be delivered to the palace- before daybreak next morning, At dawn, the father turns_ up with the chosen virgin. If the parent is reluctant to part "with his offspring, he can lodge an appeal. This is studiedby the king's fetish priests and if they agree to the father's. plea the girl is allowedto return home against a paymentin money or goods by the family. Very often payment takes the form of delivery of two or more cows which are the usual "nur- rency," employed throughout Africa in computing what is known as the "bride price.".. Fin- der the terms of the unwritten "bride price" laws of African tribes, the cost of a marriages able girl used to be two cows; the cost ofliving has 'forced the price today to three cows at almost $100. ' The Pon claims that he is en- titled to have a well -stocked harem according to laws made by his ancestors, "It is ordained that I must have plenty of wives in the compound, otherwise the tribe 'will fall upon evil days." he says, ' It is not known how may children the Fon has fatheredd, But they are numbered in hun- dreds. — From "Tit -Bits." Chicago has launched what Is believed North America's second civic -supported heart, disease prevention program, It is' based on clearing . up abnormalities !mown• to predispose to heart disease, What's the best time to phi the children to bed? To many par- ents it was in the era before television, Divided Skirt PRINTED PATTERN 4510 SIZES 2-10 Sias Gets, From skipping rope to running off to school, the divided skirt takes top honors! Mate it with its Peter Pan shirt or cozy swea- ters for skating outdoors. Printed Pattern 4510: Chil- dren's Sizes 2, 4, 6, 8, 10; Size 6 divided skirt takes lye yards 30 - inch; blouse, 11 yards. Send FORTY CENTS, (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety!) for this pattern. Please print plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS,STYLE NUMBER. Send order to ANNE 'ADAMS. Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. ' SEND NOWT Big, beautiful, COLOR-IFIC Fall and Winter Pattern Catalog .has over 100 styles to sew — school, career, half -sizes.': Only 350! WIRE TAPPING? .: Many a telephone lineman has probably thought he, was turning to ice while working in the winter. This it not the case here, however it's on example of itnagin... alivesnow sculpture in Quebec City,