A hundred meters from the Syriac convent of St Mark, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were clandestinely
domiciled for a while, Arakel, the patriarch of the Baghsarian clan, and his younger brother Noubar,
had set up home, sharing the same courtyard and the same facilities.
Arakel
ran
a
small
shop,
a
stall
rather,
barely
more
than
an
elarged
hole
in
the
wall,
where
he
sold
bread
and
"chaman"
(tangy
garlic
infused
paste)
and
"basturmah"
(seasoned
beef
either
as
a
slab
or
sliced).
You
ate
one
spread
of
"chaman"
and
you
carried the smell of garlic on you for days.
Noubar
had
worked
as
a
driver
for
the
British
Mandate
army,
but
after
they
withdrew
from
Palestine,
he
tried
his
hands
at
various
odd
jobs:
a
proud,
unbent
man
who
never
sought
a
handout
despite
the
dire
economic
difficulties
his
family
encountered.
Arakel's
passion
was
football,
and
his
favorite
team,
the
Homentmen
whose
exploits
he
followed
with
fanatical
zeal:
whenever
one
of
the
players
scored
a
goal,
he
would
plunge
his
hand
into
his
pocket
and
come
out
with
a
sumptuous
reward
-
sometimes as much as 5JD (Jordanian dinars), a princely sum in those days.
And
once,
when
the
Homentmen
won
a
Jerusalem
championship
(this
was
in
1947),
he
invited
the
whole
winning
team
to
a
picnic (in Ein Karem, site of the home of John the Baptist).
His
younger
son,
the
photographer
Avedis,
recalls
that
when
a
good
player
decided
to
"leave
town
due
to
unemployment,
he
[aid
his food and losging so he would stay."
"I
used
to
help
him
carry
sacks
of
oranges
and
cases
of
'gazoz'
(fizzy
dinks)
to
the
football
field
for
halftime
refreshments,"
Avedis
remembers.
"He was a very sensitive, emotional man and cried a lot during Armenian gatherings."
Neighbors would say, with a chuckle, that Arakel's tears would flow even when someone would wish him a "good morning."
"After
all,
I
remember
my
father
as
a
loving
person
who
cared
about
his
entire
clan
-
not
only
just
his
own
family,
but
his
brothers
and sister as well.
One
of
his
grand-nieces
will
never
forget
the
New
Year
eve
he
bestowed
upon
her
a
whole
JD
when
as
she
bent
to
kiss
his
hand
as
a
mark of reverence and respect, as was the custom then. Her father only earned 3JD a month.
"His kindness enveloped strangers as well," Avedis adds. "He was modest in helping others and did not look for compliments."
Baghsarian home entracne