If I set out to make a categorical list of the things that existed or were
made for our amusement in Palestine, it would, I think, consist of no more
than four items, viz.: sea-bathing, military sports, sight-seeing, and
concert parties; and I am not sure that the last-named ought to be
included, for it was not until the final year of the campaign that they
played any considerable part. Certainly Palestine was a difficult country
in which to set up any of the more usual forms of relaxation. There were no
neat little towns just behind the lines where a man could drink his glass
of beer while he sat and watched the pictures, for example; nor were the
Judaean hills exactly the ideal place wherein to set up a cinema or theatre
of your own. Those who were fortunate enough to be stationed near Jaffa
could, of course, visit that delectable spot, with its glorious
surroundings and incredibly filthy streets; where they could see the
alleged house of Simon the Tanner, or tread the sands whereon Napoleon
slaughtered some three thousand prisoners in cold blood because he had no
idea what else to do with them; and where, if they had a mind to renew the
agony of their schooldays, they could pick out the extremely common-place
rocks to which that unfortunate lady Andromeda was chained before her
sensational rescue by Perseus.
These about exhausted the amusements of Jaffa, and you will notice that
they do not exactly make for hilarity. A few miles away to the south were
the Jewish colonies at Richon and Duran, whose inhabitants were extremely
hospitable, and any troops quartered there subsequent to the fall of
Jerusalem were assured of a warm welcome. At the former there was a
considerable vine-growing industry and, as a natural concomitant, the
troops showed commendable industry in drinking the produce.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account