Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-22
Customs of a People Who Are Way
Behind the Times.
ETIQUETTE OF SOCIAL GATHERINGS
How the Villagers Spend Their
Time in the Winter.
DESCRIBED BY A NATIVE

and villages and not in the buzz and din Of
their cities. Rush after the requirements
Of life. where the thousands crowd, is apt
to rob character of it's naturalness and
leave it combination of somewhat arti
fciai tendencies consequential to pressing
necessities.
In city like BeyrOut for instance, one
cannot study the Syrian people. In the
first place, the astonished gaze of tray
eler rests upon peoples from every part of
the world; in the second place, L am abso-
Iutely sure Beyrout is the most profane city
i ever visited. l have been in scores OF
American cities, including New York and
Chicago; 1 have been in London, Paris and
Alexandria and have endeaVored to study
in the Sums of these large cities, but from
actual experience / can say that no city
have ever seen could approach BeyTout IN
profanity. There are good families and re-
spectacle homes in this unfortunate city,
but, alas. they are few and hard TO find
In small towns and villages life is cleaner
and more enjoyable. Although society IN
such places is not free from the disagree
able manifes tattOns of degenerate human
nature. still the rugsedncss OF the country
and the clumsy mOdeSty of the inhabitants
bring the sensibility of d stranger in touch
with the innocence OF nature Also the
standing still of these villages in their So
cal life which detied the most Stupendous
forces of evolution. makes an American
feel d 5 ne minSles with their inhabitants as
though he had slipped about thirty CEN
turies hack and is face to face with those
I-ebS nonianS whom the Hebrew bards de-
scrtbed. With a very few alterations the
Bible would serve as the best guide TO the
social life of Syria.
| had spent the careless years of youth
IN Bitatir. but after having seen large
part OF Europe and America the roughly
hewn stone walks, the fiat mud roofs. the
crooked passages between the houses SEEM
ed Ike = remote dream.
Lay Out No Streets.
In laying the foundation of Syrian viii
lag. system and order are not consulted
and no streets are planned In order to
know how the roads in villages and
towns in Syria one should consider viii
Iage as Il page in a book and try to run his
riencU between the words from the bottom
OF the page TO the top. The line one makes
between the words represents road. In
these stony, narrow passages water runs IN
torrents in wiLter, and makes walking
nest dlSagTcedble- The houses, excepting
il som. parts in Damascus state, are built
of stone. After building has been walled
up the roof is constructed. Poles like tele-
graph poles arr laid parallel from one wall
/" the other of the building, and about
ell hteen inches apart; across these poles
J. 'aTy sticks are laid, the spaces between
wnlch are very small. Across these sticks
leeds are laid which are closely tied to-
g-theT over the reeds leaves and thiStles
are spread. and the who'll is covered with
about twelve to fourteen inches of earth.
This earth is kept hard by rolling over it a
heavy stone roller, which the man of the
house must do almost every day in winter
in order 10 keep the water running off his
roof and escape the dropping This
dropping is 50 diSagreeable that solomon
Dktned il unto 4 contentious woman
ON these roofs in summer the provisions
of winter dried in the warm, bright sun
of Syria, When snow comes, which usually
fails heavy on the slopes of old Lebanon,
h.. h1 h heir
y made wooden shOvels showing the snow
off their houses TO prevent it from weigh
Ing heavily on the wooden roofs and injur-
ing them or causing them to fall
Little to Do in Winter.
During the winter the villagers have
Very little or nothing to do, and their time
is spent most unprofitably. The different
sects do not generally intermingle at their
social gatherings, because the women of
the one sect do not appear before the men
Of another. excepting when their faces are
covered. and this. of course. is not very
enjoyable TO either sex. For this reason
Christians spend their happy hours to-
gether and other sects do the same. When
the company arrives at house in the
FIRST watch of the night the Oldest man
leads by virtue OF age. and before entering
in The door he calls the host by name or
Jrdk"S Sucn an utteTance as Where are
You or oh, good people," or something
like that. as warning TO the family.
The host has built fire of wood or char
coal in the house early enough so the
greater part of the smoke will escape from
tine door tor he has no chimney before his
company has arrived. The door in Syria
Is always open, summer and winter except
ing when people go to bed, then the door
i closed And because IT is the custom in
Syria 70 leave the door always open this
utirTaHce OF warning is given in place of
Inc rapping at the door, which by force of
circumstances SyridnS could never learn.
As soon as the hardy mountaineer hears
The call of his visitors he answers from
Within
Ahien wa sehlen. sherrifoe" C''WeIcone.
we.eome. Honor me by coming in'O
Then he rushes 70 the door to meet them
with smile on his rough face. They enter
ana. leaving their shoes at the door, are
seated on the floor according to rank and
age tn chief seat being in the corner near
"hich the ditch of fire is situated.
smoke and Drink Coffee.
The tobacco plate is first passed around
and the visitors make cigarettes A little
later the coffee is passed around in those
famous small Turkish cups. The visitors
uneonsciousiy obeying St. Paurs command,
prefer one another in honor" and when
the brass tray on which the small cnns
OF coffee are carried is passed TO the old
est man present he. Il matter of poIite-
mss refuses To take coffee first, and turns
Ihe carrier 10 another dignitary present
VINO. not willing to have any one excel him
IN courtesy, refuses in strong and nositiva
terms To take coffee before the rest. es-
p'ttaiIy before 'Cnce Simoan" the Oldest
man present In Syria. when you call a
man uncle you mean that you respect him
"a you 90 your father. So the carrier of
the Tray is sent back and forth from
ol.. guest TO the other until at last the
pl.riirch OF the company, urged by the
vest IN the name of Cod and other char
a. ~. StIc u't5Tances. takes the cup, saying
So thi. the coffee is passed around a
- l4S'er until every one of the connanV
- tdHeh cup. As soon as a visitor has
~ uhk ms coffee the tray is brought bn 'ic.5
~ ann. ne puts his empty cup back and
,o.hihs 20 the host. he places his riqbi
n"HI on MS breast and lifts il up apain ~
o. h"ia with a genuine oriental how saw.
ING May We always drink cofyea In a.;
nome. ana may We drink it again in vel
olNs festivities and fetes of joy
Social Evening.
After all the guests have drunk and oo,,-
pHmvnted the host he drinks his cun and
says. You have honored me and M home
q! your visit" to which they all bow and
Say. We have been honored."
here are yarfOus uyovs