ENPages That Mention February Saturday 11 1905
Norris: Diary, January - May, 1905
BSY_FB_28-042
id-Dêr - nimbus all - rainy night in light showers. light var?.
a steady light rain all day.
Broke camp about 9:30 A.M. and went N. on road 1/2 hour to Bosra. It was very muddy. We arrived ahead of the camp and took refuge out of the rain in the house of our guide Mohammed il-Mizzâwī which house consisted of a room some 15 x 10 ft. built under one of the ancient arches of the ruins of the bazaar, and plastered inside like most houses in this country with a mixture of mud & dung. We were seated on rugs & awaited the arrival of the camp. The mules with their heavy loads had a hard time many in fact most of them were mired. The largest and strongest mule of the lot, the one who always leads the caravan, gaily comparisoned with a beautiful wide collar of colored beads and a bell, went into the mud up to his mouth and it look? and hour or more with the aid of carpets to dig him out. At last the camp arrived and was pitched in a field of soft mud. The men working in the rain & mud were completely covered with mud so that they were hardly recognizable - their hair, faces, & clothing all the same color - a dark brown. It was necessary to wade in rubber boots from one tent to another, each foot carrying a load of pounds of the rich dark soil. But by five o'clock, at which time we have our tea the camp was in order and tea ready as usual, At 7:15 we sat down to our usual dinner, served in the usual way - soup, entré, meat course, desert, coffee, nuts & raisens?. & bottle of red wine. It was perfectly wonderful. Every body solicitous for our comfort and making almost superhuman efforts so that the great gentlemen would not be inconvenienced any more than absolutely necessary. Our guide is a very handsome man with a black beard & long hair over his shoulders. He looks exactly like the Christ. cont'd. Feb. 12th.
