Amarji The Website of Syrian Author Ammar Abdulhamid


An Oriental Tapestry

 

End of the Road
   

 

 

On

the

way

to

my

Father’s House

in

New Alamût,

whereto I walk barefoot,

traversing

the hallways

of the Silent Assembly,

during the time of the Solemn Convocation,

having recently been to the tomb of

Saint Basil of the Slippery Motorway,

traveling

along

the

Hashîsh Road,

from the Biqâ’ Valley to the Blood Grotto,

                                               zig-

                                                            zagging

                                                                                through

                                                          ancient

                                                                                 streets,

                                                                      alley-

                                                                                       ways,

                                                                               and

                                                  neigh-

                                                                      borhoods,

                                                        weaving

                                                                                around

                                                                                               WALLS

                                                                     and

                                                                                 pit-

                                                                   falls,

and crowds of demons and cherubim,

always

under

the

watchful

Eye,

the ever so vigilant

Soul,

of the Great Lord,

the brand new Old Man of the Mountain,

"the Leader the Symbol",

the true Wâlî-Faqîh of our day and age,

the Hopeless Little Saladin Wannabe,

following

the

traces

of

his

nose-

bleeds,

I wipe my shoes on the expensive carpeting

made of human fiber,

I

knit

my

way

through

the

temporal

fabrics

of ever-divergent points of view,

I shy away from politics,

and 'Alawî Women,

(I

simply

cannot

make

love

to

tyranny),

I avoid stepping on,

or kicking

any of the heads strewn along the way,

(they might still be able to spit, even bite, I am told),

and with my eyes WIDE open,

I watch

the

gradual

downfall

of the last of the Bâtinî dynasties,

in my country,

through the cracks,

through the holes,

of

modern

h

i

s

t

o

r

y.

 

This is a bit of a prophecy,

I am told,

But then,

having

visions

on the road to Damascus

is not something new,

is it?

 


 

 

Notes

 (This poem might be too Syrian to be fully understood, by non-Syrians, but there is no reason why it should be left fully incomprehensible)

 

Alamût. The name of the fortress in Persia that became, around the time of the Crusades, the headquarters of the famous/infamous Order of the Assassins. The other major centers for the Assassins were located in Syria.

Basil al-Assad. The name of the Syrian President’s late son who died in a car crash on the Airport Highway in 1993. He was being prepared to succeed his father, and was highly admired and respected within the ‘Alawî sect, which rules Syria at this stage. After his death, he was pronounced a martyr and a veritable shrine was hurriedly constructed for him in his father’s native village, al-Qardâhah in North Syria.

A popular joke that appeared in Syria at the time goes like this:

-Say, do you know what is the difference between the Martyr (Shahîd) and the Missing (Faqîd)?

-No.

-Well, the Martyr is the one who dies in a simple car accident on the Airport Highway.

-And the Missing?

-The Missing is the one who says otherwise.

 

The Biqâ’ Valley. A valley in Modern Lebanon which lies along the border with Syria. It has been, since time immemorial it seems, a well-known haven for growing Hashîsh.

The Blood Grotto. A cave in Mount Qâsayûn, the mount that overlooks Damascus, which, in local folktales, marks the spot where Cane killed Abel.

The Lion’s Den. Modern Syria is often referred to these days, by government propagandists and their sycophant allies in the population at large, as the Lion’s Den, calling to mind the President’s surname which in Arabic means the Lion. Ironically, the President’s original family name is al-wahsh, meaning the monster.

The Old Man of the Mountain. Or, Shaykh al-Jabal, the title given to Râshid al-Dîn Sinân, the leader of the Syrian faction of the Assassins, by the Crusaders.

The Wâlî-Faqîh. Or, the Ruler-Jurist, a political office first envisioned, and later embodied, by the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran. It is now held by Ayatollah Khamin’i. The Wâlî-Faqîh is supposed to act as the spiritual leader of his nation, and to oversee its progress along Islamic lines as he understands them.

Bâtinî faiths. Faiths known for having secretive teachings vouchsafed only to few of its top religious leadership. They have been somewhat common throughout the history of Islamic Syria. Today, there are two main bâtinî sects in Syria, the ruling ‘Alawî sect, and the Druze sect.

 

 

 

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