Chapter Nineteen
Reprise
It was late as the horses bearing their weary charges, Mathew on Kashira, Rashad on Basmah while ponying Bint Shahwan, and me on my stallion Dazshtan came through the dust and wind, the vast greenery of the Wadi Sirhan and close to the tents of the Ruala tribe of Sheykh R’ Ammeri.
The Arabian horses in our company had inherited their stamina and traits from centuries of carrying these Bedouin tribe members through thousands of miles of desert in their quest for tribal survival. The Bedouin tribe members of the Ruala tribe, who accompanied us on this harrowing trip, had returned to the tents of one of the Anazeh horse-breeding tribes that dotted the landscape from Aleppo in the north to the Arabian desert in the south.
As we arrived in the oasis, our guide and special servant of the Sheykh met us.
“Please, all of you. Come with me,” he said. “I am instructed to assist you. May I assist your alfahl almurhaq, faras (weary stallion and mares). We thank Allah for your safe return. As-Salam-Alaikum, Josie, Mathew and Rashad. we honor your presence here”
“Wa-Alaikum-Salaam, La Shukran. All of us need to stay together. Our mares, my stallion, and our group appreciate your kind gesture. We all need to rest,” I exclaimed.
Our wounds were treated with the herbs and spices given to us by the servants as we settled down under the shade of date palms.
Yes. We have a passion for the Arabian Horse. This experience in the previous chapters had tested all of us, Dazshtan, my trusted and loyal stallion, the war mares Kashira and Basmah, and the mounts carrying our brothers and tribal allies, Personally, after coming here, I came to appreciate how important their inherited Arab qualities were, coming directly from their desert breeding.
All of us had survived challenges. It allowed us to reveal our true strengths and weaknesses. Destiny, here together, Rashad, son of Sheykh R’ Ammeri, Mathew, special forces, our guide and protector, and me, Josie Peters.
