Thurs Jan 15 [15 January 1914] Decided to take with us Sa'id ibn Faris, the camel man from Dam. [Dimashq (Damascus, Esh Sham, Damas)] as 4th man. He is M.'s [Muhammad] nephew. An Agaili, 'Ali, insisted on coming with us so far, on chance of work. Went at 7 to Ishaq's house and tried to get back my paper. He appeared in underclothes and overcoat and gave me tea in his bedroom! Swore that the paper had been written by Halim who appeared last night from Salt and had gone on with it to Dam. All lies, but I cd not get it anyway. So I rode on with Shibly. We stopped at Juwaideh [Juweiyida, El] and had coffee with Selim Abu Jubir and his wife and another. Then on to Yadudeh [Yaduda, El] where I found the two Jawaberi, Abu Salih and Abu Sa'id, men. Great big men, with deep voices. Their father bought the land here, coing from Salt. By origin they are of Nazareth. They have a big house at Salt. They bound over a Sakhary to go with me as rafiq. One very pretty woman in the house, daughter of Abu Salih, and Sa'id, a sickly looking boy. Rock cut tombs and old threshing floors. All the villages here are built with old stones. Drank coffee and rode on to Umm al Kundum [Um el Kundum] where we found Hanna, his mother Umm al Bshara, who is a sister of the Jawaberi, her two daughters, Nur[?] unmarried and another very handsome who is married but has left her husband (a man of Nablus [Nablus (Shekhem)]) and come back to live with her little girl. Also Nimrud Hassun whom I was enchanted to see. The uncle, Abu Suleiman Bsharra presently came in. His son Suleiman is the husband of the pretty woman we saw at Yadudeh. The father of these Bsharra boys, Ibrahim is dead. We lunched on chickens and I talked to Nimrud most of the afternoon. They have a great house, madafi, which is full every night - Arabs, soldiers, they have to feed and lodge them all, them and their mounts. Most of their profit goes this way. They kill 3 sheep a week and buy kids for their guests. Hanna talks French and a little English. He has just come back from the university at Freyburg[?] where he has taken an agricultural degree and wants to bring out machines and improve the work here. Nimrud is not doing well. The last 2 years have not given enough corn for his low lying lands and Habib Effendi is dead, while Faris does little or nothing and leaves the work to hired labour. They carried out the big tray, bread steeped in a gravy of dry laban and water, with rice and meat on top, to the guests. Then we dined on lamb and spent some time talking politics. So to bed very sleepy. Their workmen are all Moslems, many Sherarat. They have no trouble about religion. The Bsharras have about 50 workmen. They get in 50 more for the harvest. Their women see no Moslems - they are practically veiled. But not beforeXians. Wonderful view from the top of this hill over the rolling plain.