Fri. Ap 30. [30 April 1909] Went off after breakfast with the old man
who locks and unlocks Mr Y.'s church (Fattahi is his name) and saw a
very interesting Chaldaean church called Mar Hamdani ('Ahudami).
Saw too Mar Sham'un where there is a monastery and Mar Tuma with
an interesting older part of the church. We had a large lunch party.
After which Henriet, Drubba and I drove round by the Sinjar gate and
back to Mar Hamdani ('Ahudami). After which I called on Suleiman
Beg Jemil Zadeh. His people were Xians and came from Diarbekr
[Diyarbakir (Amida)] 200 years ago. They ruled the town till the first
Turkish Vali was appointed and are still very large landowners. He
talked no politics except to storm against Mustafa Beg, Izzet's brother
who was Vali here before Zekki. If he had stayed another 2 years he
wd have ruined the town. Dr Griffeth told me Suleiman Beg was at
heart with the new order if only they were strong enough to hold, but
that's what he doubted. He kept himself carefully out of politics. He is
a gentleman. Mustafa Beg persuaded him to give a valuable piece
of land by the river as a present to Izzet. Suleiman did it very
unwillingly and 2 months after Izzet fell. But though he was now
disgraced and powerless Suleiman did not withdraw the gift. The
Nakib kept carefully apart from the Muhammadiyyeh and refused to
join them. Possibly he was clever enough to know that they cd not
win. News has come of a massacre of the Armenians at Adana
[(Seyhan, Ataniya)] - probably just at the Muhammadiyyeh time. The
Vali had up all the great Moslems today and gave them a lesson in
brotherly love, bidding them treat the Xians like themselves. Mr
Young says he has done that several times and the Moslems are
furious.