Syria

JFK shot dead in Dallas, deadlines in Darlington

We couldn't find a photograph of American presidents in our library

President John F Kennedy had been shot in Dallas at 12:30 pm Texas time, and that meant tight Press deadlines in Darlington. I guess it was near 7:00 pm UK time when I heard the news flash on my car radio. I was 20 miles from the offices where I’d just been entrusted with the […]

Hitler spoils big day for the runaway bride  

First WW2 wedding in England as Germany's blitzskriek starts the war

A peaceful village wedding and the biggest military bombardment in history, taking place simultaneously… The first wedding bells and the first shots of World War II rang out as Hitler invaded Poland and spoiled an ancestor’s runaway wedding. It was a Friday like no other in the history of our family and the history of the world. By Terry […]

Last outpost saves the mother tongue of Jesus

Donkey vendor has Coke at Biblical prices

Last outpost saves Jesus of Nazareth’s mother tongue. Aramaic was the language spoken at the time of Jesus and is still in the remote mountains of ancient Syria. It was the mother tongue of Jesus, his disciples, and most people who attended their gigs. It has survived wars and changing dynasties and remains the language […]

Ancestral mystery of desert warrior queen

No camels so we trek 250 km by Yak

I had requested a camel train to take us across the Syrian Desert to Palmyra, the hometown of the legendary Queen Zenobia, whose ancestry is unclear. She may have been raised as the daughter of her brother, who had married the widow of her father, who was the brother of them both. Palmyra was an […]

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