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The Glory of the East… Damascus

A story for children from Damascene heritage

Prepared and presented by: Nawar al-Shater

Once upon a time, there was a German Emperor named Wilhelm II, and he had a very beautiful wife named Augusta Victoria.

One day, the emperor and his wife decided to visit Damascus, so the rulers of the city and its people began to prepare to receive visitors, so they painted the public and private walls and shops with delightful colors, and renovated some Damascene houses, equipped the roads and adorned them with the most beautiful decorations, and planted Damascene roses with fragrant scents in the gardens and squares, so that Damascus became a bottle of perfume and a painting full of love and colour.

The notables of Damascus competed to host the emperor, as everyone wanted to win the honor of hosting him in their homes.

The emperor and his wife arrived in Damascus in the evening. The entire city went down to the streets and gave the emperor a great welcome that history had not seen before.

The emperor was greatly impressed by this welcome and respect that surpassed description and imagination. He delivered a speech in which he thanked everyone, without exception for the generous hospitality and warm welcome. He said:

“There is nothing on earth more beautiful than Damascus, and whoever desires to see great respect among kings, let him come to Damascus.”

The emperor and his wife toured the city and visited all the ancient monuments in it, such as the Barda River, the Umayyad Mosque, the tomb of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, and the Damascus Citadel.

During the emperor and empress’s wanderings, and at the entrance to the castle, the empress noticed a beautiful white donkey, which aroused her attention, and she asked the governor of Damascus, Mustafa Assem Pasha, to bring it to her so that she could take it with her to Berlin.

The governor was surprised by the empress’s strange request, but he could not refuse he, so he issued an order to search for the owner of the donkey.

The bailiff sent the soldiers to find out who was the owner of the white donkey, and after interrogating the parishioners, the bailiff knew the name of the owner of the donkey. His name was Aba al-Khair Tello.

The bailiff summoned Abu al-Khair to him and asked him to gift the donkey to the emperor’s wife, but he apologized.

The bailiff got angry and told the governor about that, so the governor asked to see Abu al-Khair, and offered him to buy the donkey for a large sum, but Abu al-Khair insisted and said: “Sir, I have six heads of fine horses, if you wish, I will present them all to the empress as a gift, but not the donkey!”

The governor was surprised by this answer and asked him why.

Tello replied with a smile:

“Sir, if they take the donkey back to their country, the newspapers of the world will write about it and they will ask, ‘Where is this donkey from?’ They will know it is from Damascus, and they will ask again: ‘Did the empress find nothing else she liked in Damascus, other than a donkey?’ Therefore, I will not offer it to her, and I will not sell it!

The governor conveyed the news to the emperor and the empress, and they laughed a lot and were impressed by the answer, and the emperor issued an order to grant Tello a symbolic medal.

The visit lasted for several days, and on the last day of the visit, the emperor and his wife went to Salihiyya, and a terrace was built for him to see Damascus from, and there he accepted the gifts and precious artifacts from the dignitaries of Damascus. He gave them gifts in return, and the emperor’s wife sent a wreath studded with gold and silver to put it on the shrine of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi.

A luxurious dinner was held to bid farewell to the emperor and his wife. They left the city with great pleasure, accompanied by a thousand Arab knights.

 Expressing his pleasure at visiting the city of Damascus, the emperor said:

“If a king desires to see the highest respect, let him come to Damascus.”