The Book of Travels. Hannā Diyāb

spent three months searching fruitlessly for work. Finding myself in dire straits, I decided I would return to the monastery and wait till a caravan was set to travel to Tripoli. When one was preparing to leave, I rented a horse from the muleteer, telling him it was for a friend. I did this so no one would find out I was leaving Aleppo and try to stop me.

٢٩،١1.29

      فتاني يوم استيقظت حكم السلام واخدت بعض حوايج الذي بيلزموني من رفايق وقمصان وما يشبه ذلك وعبيت الجميع في خرج الذي كان عندي من اول سفره وخرجت من البيت وتوجهت الي خان الزيت حيث مكان النازل فيه القاطرجي فلما وصلت وسالت عن القاطرجي قالوا لي بانه راح يحمل الي واحد فرنجي الذي هو نازل في بيت خواجه سيريون خواجة اخي. حيندٍ عرفته وهذا كان رجل سايح من سواح سلطان فرنسا وكان جايي من بلاد الارمنيه وساح في تلك البلاد بصفت حكيم عابر طريق ومن حلب قصده يسوح في بلاد الشرقيه اعني العربيه^١ وكان اسمه بول لوكا.

      ١ «اعني العربيه» في الهامش.

      The next day, I rose just before the call to the dawn prayer and gathered the clothes I’d need: underpants, shirts, and so on.¹⁹ I stuffed them into a satchel I’d used on my first trip and left the house for Khān al-Zayt, where the muleteer was staying. When I arrived and asked after him, I was told he’d gone to handle the luggage of a Frank who was staying at the home of khawājah Sauron, my brother’s master.

      I knew who the Frank was. He was a traveler dispatched by the sultan of France, and had arrived from Armenia, which he’d toured as a traveling doctor.²⁰ From Aleppo, his plan was to travel through the East—that is, Arab lands. His name was Paul Lucas.

      ٣٠،١1.30

      اخيرًا حمّلت خرجي علي الكديش وكان موجود هناك كام واحد من الحلبيه مسافرين مع القفل فقلتلهم قوموا بنا نتمشي الي حين ما بيجي القاطرجي. حيندٍ سحبنا كدشنا وسرنا حتي وصلنا الي القبه والعامود وما اجا القاطرجي فجلسنا هناك نستنضره وفي ذلك الوقت انا غيرت حلاسي ولفيت شاشي الابيض ولبست الجزمه وصلحت تنبليتي كما يجب وبقيت علي هيية السفر وبعد هنيهه وصل القاطرجي وبعده وصل ذلك الفرنجي المذكور ومعه اربع خمس خواجكيه وكلهم بيعرفوني ففي الحال ركبت دبتي وسرت وحدي قبلما يصلوا الينا وغبت عن نضرهم.

      At last I was able to load my satchel onto the packhorse. There were a few Aleppans traveling with the caravan.

      “Come on,” I told them, “let’s start walking while we wait for the muleteer to arrive.” We set off, tugging our horses along, and soon arrived at the dome and column.²¹ The muleteer still hadn’t appeared, so we sat and waited.

      Meanwhile, I changed my clothes and wrapped a white turban cloth around my head. I put on my boots and adjusted my satchel properly. I was ready to go. After a short while, the caravan driver arrived, followed by the aforementioned Frank. He had four or five khawājahs with him, each of whom would have recognized me! So I jumped on my horse in a flash and rode off alone, disappearing from view before they arrived.

      ٣١،١1.31

      اخيرًا ودعوه ورجعوا ونحن مشينا والحمال كانت سبقت قبل بيوم الي كفتين لا زلنا سايرين والمطر بيصب علينا حتي وصلنا الي كفتين ونحن غرقانين من تلك الامطار فدخلنا الي بيت القاطرجي وفي الحال اوقد لنا نار في الاوجاق. حيندٍ شلحنا ما علينا وصرنا ننشف ثيابنا والفرنجي نزل في تلك الناحيه هو وخدامه رجل من بلاد الارمنيه مسيحي كاتوليكي قصده كان يقدس فلما استرحنا شويه سمعت الفرنجي والقاطرجي عمالين بيدابلوا لكن الواحد ما بيفهم من الاخر. حيندٍ زعقلي القاطرجي بما انه بيعرفني بفهم في لسان الفرنجي وقلي بحياتك قول لهذا الخواجه ماذا يريد وما هو مطلوبه فسالت المذكور بلسان الفرنساوي ماذا يريد فقلي انا سلمته في حلب بعض حوايج وما رايتهم الان فلما فهمت القاطرجي قلي ها هن موجودات عندي موضوعات في الخرج. حيندٍ انبسط الفرنجي واستكتر بخيري. اخيرًا سالني هل انت مسيحي فقلتله نعم بنعمة الله تعالى قلي لا تواخدني لاني رايتك لافف شاش ابيض خمنت انك مسلم.

      The khawājahs finally bid farewell to the Frank, and our caravan set off. Our baggage had been sent the day before to Kaftīn. We made our way there, riding without rest even as the rain poured down. We reached Kaftīn half-drowned, and went to the muleteer’s house. He quickly lit a fire for us in the stove, and we stripped off what we were wearing and set about drying our clothes.

      The Frank came in with his servant, a Catholic man from Armenia, on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After we’d rested awhile, I heard the Frank and the muleteer speaking, but neither could make sense of what the other was saying. The muleteer called for me because he knew I understood the Frankish language.

      “Hey, do me a favor and ask the khawājah what he’s after,” the driver said.

      I put this to the fellow in French.

      “I entrusted some things to the muleteer when we were in Aleppo,” the Frank explained. “And now they’ve vanished!”

      When I explained this to the muleteer, he replied that he had the things in question tucked away in one of his bags. The Frank was pleased to hear this, and thanked me profusely.

      “Are you a Christian?” he asked.

      “I am, by the grace of God.”

      “Forgive me,” he said. “I’d seen you wearing a white turban and mistook you for a Muslim.”

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