Worldly Goods

A serendipitous closing line to a story told by a character in The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Christy Lefteri), recommended to me by blipper gillyh. The story describes travellers in the Syrian desert, seeking a mythical lost city. They find it, and it is as beautiful and jewel-encrusted as its legends, but entirely deserted. At its centre is a grand pavillion with a long table, etched with the words "At this table have eaten a thousand kings blind in their right eye, and a thousand kings blind in their left eye, and a thousand kings blind in both eyes, all of whom have departed the world and have gone to tomb and catacomb.”

Take note, Donald

"Is it true?", asks a child. "It is always true don't you think" replies the narrator

Wanting only gentle exercise, we walked to a nearby park in search of the 'Geological Stone Spiral'. As so often, there was more pleasure in the journey than the destination. The park is actually the site of the city cemetery, where 82,000 bodies were buried between the mid 19th and late 20th century. The gravestones have been removed to the edges and the centre used as a public park. Admirable northern pragmatism. The century-old trees lining the walkways through the stones create  atmosphere and dignity. Discreet information boards provide background to some of the tragedies and crises that filled some of the graves, often unmarked

The spiral was a disappointment. I preferred the overlooking catacombs - constructed by a cemetery company and available as a resting place for - in modern value - £10,000. In fact, the city's rich preferred to construct their own private, individual graves and, for a long time, the catacombs were used only for the burial of the penniless, at public expense. Somewhere in there is a good parable