Syria

Photo of the day: Afaf, Hamdaniyat al-‘Ifir, Jabri Stud, Syria

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Another photo taken by G. Waiditschka at the Jabri Stud outside Aleppo, Syria. This one shows the young mare ‘Afaf, a Hamdaniyat al-‘Ifri (from the same family as the stallion *Ta’an who was imported to the USA). These horses, also known as Hamdaniyat al-Tulan after their original Bedouin owner Munwikh al-Tawil, are Hamdani al-‘Ifri. Al-‘Ifri … Read more

Another original document from the Tahawi website

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The Tahawi website maintained by Mohammed al-Tahawy is a wonderful resource of original testimonies about the horses that this Bedouin clan bred throughout the XXth century. A few months ago, English translations of some of the hujaj (Arabic certification documents) of some of the foundation horses acquired by the Tahawi were featured on this website, … Read more

New information on the strain of *Mirage, a Saqlawi of Ibn Zubayni

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The 1919 grey desert-bred stallion *Mirage (photo below, with owner Roger Selby) is a legend in American Arabian horse breeding. This Saqlawi Jadran stallion was born in the desert, and selected as a mount of the newly installed King of Iraq, Faysal I, before he was sold to a European ambassador and ending up in Lady … Read more

Twelve Davenports of Christmas: *Urfah

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This photograph, found in the WR Brown Collection (owned by AHOF), is labeled *Urfah, and has the left fore and two white hind feet as described in the studbook. *Urfah is wound around and through the straight Davenports through her son *Hamrah and her daughter Sheria. Says the DAHC pedigree site (which is a bit … Read more

Dahess Hassaka, 2005 asil Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq from Syria, now in France

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Arnault Decroix send me this picture of his very promising 2005 stallion Dahess Hassaka (al-Ameer Dahess x Oghareet by Marzouk out of Hanadi by Krush Juhayyim), which was bought from Radwan Shabareq and imported to France in 2009.  An asil Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq from the very old marbat of the Naqashbandi sufi mystics of the Middle Euphrates valley, … Read more

Another photo of Dahess, the Ubayyan Suhayli stallion

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Dahess (Awaad x Al-Jazi by the Ubayyan of ‘Atnan al-Shazi) was a 1987 grey stallion. He was bred by sayyid Muhammad al-Shaykh Salim a Tufayhi, a non-Bedouin from a family of religious notables in Upper Mesopotamia, as so was his dam. He was a ‘Ubayyan Sharrak by strain, tracing to the marbat of ‘Awwad ‘Azzam al-Sahlan, or … Read more

Photo of the Day: Dawhah, desert-bred Kuhaylat al-Wati, Syria

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This mare was mentioned several times on this blog. She is a Kuhaylat al-Wati of the marbat of Hakim al-Ghishm of the Shammar Bedouins in Nort-Eastern Syria. Her sire, dam, grandsire and granddam, and her ancestors beyond that are from the same marbat, and bred by the same family. She was owned by Mustafa Jabri … Read more

Hamdaniyah al-‘Ifri, dam of *Ta’an, Syria

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This mare is a desert-bred Hamdaniyat al-‘Ifri, bred by a Bedouin named Mus’ir Hamad al-Sakran, who also bred her son *Ta’an. *Ta’an was imported to the USA in 1994. Her sire was the grey Kuhaylan al-Wati of Diab al-Sbeih of the Shammar Bedouins, a stallion who was used over a short period of time, but … Read more

Photo of the day: desert-bred Rishah Shar’abiyah, Syria

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This desert-bred mare is a representative of the rare and precious strain of Rishan. She traces to a most ancient and authenticated marbat of the Rishan strain, that of Ibn Hathmi of the ‘Abdah section of the Shammar Bedouin tribe. Her breeder Ayid al-Fnaish obtained the line from Ibn Hathmi a few decades ago. Mustafa … Read more

Photos of the Day: Mahrous, desert-bred Ubayyan stallion from the Shammar

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I recently scanned a number of photos of Syrian Arabian horses that I took in the early 1990s, and I will be sharing them with you over the next days and weeks. It makes sense to begin this series of photos with the 1981 ‘Ubayyan Suhayli stallion Mahrous, head sire at the Jabri stud in … Read more

Nimr Shabareq, asil Ma’naqi Abu Sayfayn stallion from Syria, now in France

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Nimr Shabareq (photo below, by Zaarour al-Barary out of Yamhad by al-A’war) is one of the desert bred stallions that were recently imported to France. He is now standing at stud with Louis Bauduin, who took this picture and gave it to Arnault Decroix, who sent it to me (Merci, Arnault). This is not your … Read more

Photo of the day: Kassar, asil Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion, Syria

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The chestnut stallion Kassar (Mahrous x Dawha by K. al-Wati) was bred by Mustafa al-Jabri and purchased by Omar Anbarji of Aleppo, who sent me the picture below. Kassar’s dam Dawha hails from the ma’ruf (well-known — by the Bedouin community, that is) and mazbut (reliable, authenticated, trusted) marbat of Kuhaylan al-Wati of the sons of … Read more

[Republished] Stallions at Al Basel – Basil, a son of Mahrous

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I was sorry to hear about the passing of Majd, the bay Kuhaylan Hayfi stallion whose picture i recently posted. While visiting the Al Basel government stud in Syria, Majd’s sire was introduced. He is an imposing grey of good size, and his name is Basil [Mahrous x Halah]. He is of the Kuhaylan Mimrah … Read more

Mahrous, desert bred Ubayyan and herd sire at Jabri Arabian, Syria

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The ‘Ubayyan Suhayli stallion Mahrous was, until his death in the late 1990s, the herd sire at Mustafa al-Jabri’s stud in Aleppo, Syria. Today his sire line is, along with that of the Damascus stallion Ayid, the most prolific in modern Syrian Arabian horse breeding. If you check Mahrous’ entry in the Syrian Arabian Horse Studbook, … Read more

Remembering Mabruk, the desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq stallion

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This horse should have been mine, years ago. Actually, he was about to be mine, and he somehow slipped between my fingers by going to greener pastures. I first encountered him on a hot summer afternoon in 1996, while on a visit to the Aleppo Equestrian Center, with friends Radwan Shabareq, Kamal Abdul-Khaliq, and my father, Salim al-Dahdah. We had … Read more

A couple words on the Kuhaylan Khallawi strain

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Kuhaylan Khallawi (often misspelt Halawi) is a strain of Arabian horses little-known in the West.  It is mentioned in Lady Anne Blunt’s list of strains derived from the Kuhaylan family, and in Carl Raswan’s list. The only other place it is mentioned is in Roger Upton’s writings, where his desert-bred import Yataghan (sire of the … Read more

Photo of the Day: Rock, Kuhaylan al-Kharas stallion bred by the Tahawi

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This photo of the stallion Rock (Ragie x El Charsaa by Gezeier) with proud owner Shaykh Sulayman ibn Abd al-Hamid ibn ‘Ulaywa al-Tahawi was taken from the Tahawi family website. I am so grateful to Bernd Radtke for among other things, his sharing with me the pedigree of Rock’s daughter Bombolle (Rock x Maskerade), which … Read more

Photo of the Day: desert bred Saqlawi Jadran stallion, Syria

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This photo was sent by a horse merchant in Syria to one of the Tahawi clan leaders in Egypt, bto probe his interest in purchasing the horse. Here is what figures on the back of the photo: “Photo of the Saqlawi Jadrani horse, his sire is ‘Ubayyan of the horses of Ibn Samdan and his … Read more

Hujjah of Saqlawi Jadran stallion from Tay, bought by the Tahawis, c. 1936

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This hujjah comes from the Tahawi tribe website and is very interesting, because of the place of origin of the horse: unlike most of the Tahawi hujaj I saw, this one comes from the Upper Mesopotamia area (al-Jazirah) while the others came from Western Syria. I hope the horse referenced in this hujjah document left some … Read more

How the Tahawi used to choose asil Arabians from Syria

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Excerpts from the Tahawi clan/family website, translation mine: When in the 1850s, the Tahawi began to settle in the province of al-Sharkiyah, in the areas of Bilbeis, Abu Hammad, Geziret Saoud, Kfar Saqr, al-Ismailia, and Abu Sultan, they owned horses which they used for transportation and nomadizing; then they settled down and acquired agricultural land, … Read more

On the connections of the Tahawi tribe with specific ‘Anazah Bedouin clans

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The Tahawi family website in Arabic is a gold mine of original information on the asil horses of Egypt’s Tahawi tribe. Here’s what I found today on this website concerning the horse Barakat, who is the paternal grandsire of the three foundation mares Folla, Futna, and Bint Barakat [my own annotations in between square brackets]: “The stallion … Read more

Photos of the Day: *Ta’an, from Syria to the USA and back to Jordan

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The 1988 grey Hamdani al-‘Ifri stallion *Ta’an (Awaad x al-Efrieh by a Kuhaylan al-Wati) was born in the Jazirah area of North-Eastern Syria. His breeder, Mis’ir al-Hamad is a member of one of the small Arab nomadic tribes that settled in this area in the XXth century. I first saw *Ta’an in 1990 as a … Read more

Dham al-Jarba, Wati al-Ghishm and the ‘Ubayyan story from Mustafa al-Jabri

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Mustafa al-Jabri is a longtime Syrian breeder of desert Arabian horses from Aleppo, Syria, and a beloved family friend.  Mustafa’s stud near Aleppo, which has up to 100 mares and two dozen stallions, is one of the most highly regarded studs in Syria. Over the past decades, Mustafa spent extensive amounts of time with Bedouins … Read more

New Facebook Site: al-Khuyul al-‘Arabiyah al-Asilah

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Syrian breeder and Arabian horse expert Mustafa al-Jabri is closely associated with this Facebook page, “al-Khuyul al-Arabiyah al-Asilah (Authentic Arabian Horses), which has more than 3,000 fans. The page has very useful information on Arabian horses, including scores of ancient poetry, old sayings, and accounts of the deeds of old Arabian horses and horsemen. Unfortunately, it … Read more

Photo of the Day: Letan (b. 1909), Hamdani ibn Ghurab, USA and Mobarak (b. 1987), Hamdani Ibn Ghurab, Syria

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A nice photo of a son of two desert-bred imports. Letan is by *Muson, a Kuhalyan al-Musinn of the Ruwalah, out of *Jedah, a Hamdaniyah Simriyah of the marbat of Ibn Ghurab. Both *Muson and *Jedah were imported from Northern Arabia by Homer Davenport in 1906.  My Wisteria has 25 crosses to him, and her daughter … Read more

Frozen semen from Mokhtar soon available for shipping

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It’s all in the title. Mokhtar is the black desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Krush stallion bred by the Shammar, and has been a recent fixture on this blog.. His owner Chantal Chekroun says that professionally frozen semen will be available for him this coming September, to respond to international demand. The horse is turning 24 next year, … Read more

Hijab, asil Saqlawiyah Ibn Amoud mare from Syria, now in France

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Below is a photo of Hijab (Ward Al Mayel x Nisreen by Mubarak), an asil Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah now in France, with Chantal Chekroun, who sent me this picture. Chantal also owns the black Kuhaylan al-Krush stallion Mokhtar. Note the similarity between this photo of Hijab and some of the Priztlaff horses of Rabanna bloodlines (especially … Read more

Mokhtar, the desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Krush from Shammar, thriving in France

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Reader Chantal Chekroun of France just sent me these recent photos of her desert-bred stallion Mokhtar (Awaad x Doumah), a 1987 black Kuhaylan al-Krush from the Shammar tribe in north-eastern Syria. This venerable horse has been regularly featured on this website, and for good reason. He is the epitomy of asil. Mokhtar is a Kuhaylan … Read more

New Syrian Arabian Horse Blog

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There is a new blog dedicated to the “Syrian Arabian Horses: Past, Present and Bright Future”, which Hazaim al-Wair started last month, with input from noted breeder and desert horse advocate Basil Jadaan and others from the Syrian Arab Horse Association. This is a really promising endeavour, as Hazaim is thoughful and knowledgeable about the Syrian … Read more

The horses of the elusive Ahmad Ibish

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My research project about Syrian horse-racer Ahmad Ibish is progressing well, but I am not ready to share the results on this blog yet. Ibish, of Damascus, Syria, was on the top of my list of influential urban Middle Eastern horsemen of the twentieth century, along with Henri Pharaon of Beirut, Lebanon, Iskandar Qassis of … Read more

New Kuhaylat al-Krush filly at Bedouin Arabians in New Mexico.. and more

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Jackson Hensley, of Bedouin Arabians Farm, in New Mexico, just sent me pictures of the latest addition to his stud; Sabella Al Krush, an asil Kuhaylat al-Krush filly, tracing in tail female to the mare *Werdi imported from Syria to USA by Homer Davenport in 1906. *Werdi hails from the Krush marbat of the Fad’aan Bedouins. As an … Read more

New foal crop at Jadaan Arabians in Syria

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It is that time of the year, and asil foals are starting to crop up everywhere. I just received these two photos of newborns at Basil Jadaan’s stud in Damascus, Syria (thanks Basil and Joe). They are representative of the latest generation of Syrian asils: pretty, expressive, and true to type.  Their grandparents and great-grandparents … Read more

Photo of the day: Al Bark, Shuayman Sabbah stallion from Syria

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I just received this beautiful headshot of the bay stallion Al-Bark (Beebars x Etidal by Burhan x Obeirah) from Joe Achcar in Syria. This stallion is a Shuwayman Sabbah by strain, but from a different marbat that that of the Jarbah leaders of the Shammar Bedouin tribe.  The marbat of Shuwayman Sabbah to which Al-Bark traces … Read more

Les Buveurs d’air et les filles du vent

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Bien que je suive très attentivement et très régulièrement les articles de ce blog merveilleux , je me rends compte avoir laissé passer de nombreuses occasions d’apporter commentaires et précisions. Je m’empresse donc de réparer cette négligence en ce début d’année 2010. Tout d’abord , je m’étonne de la perplexité qu’a suscité la petite maxime … Read more

Photo of the Day: desert-bred Kuhaylah Trayfiyyah from Syria

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 This very old mare is a Kuhaylah Trayfiyyah from the Middle Euphrates valley in Syria, near the small town of al-Mayadin. This area general is home to the tribe of al-Aqaydat (Ageydat), a wealthy and powerful semi-nomadic tribe of cultivators and small herders whose Shaykhs obtained a number of really good desert-bred mares in the first … Read more

Ghuzayyil’s entry in the Aldahdah Index

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Ghuzayyil was a famous desert-bred horses from Syria, whose bloodlines are present today in a number of modern pedigrees from Syria, including that of the stallion Hussam al-Shimal now in France. This is his entry in the Aldahdah Index: GHUZAYYIL: a grey desert-bred stallion, born c. 1952; [no picture available] Strain: Saqlawi Nijm al-Subh, of … Read more

Mawj al-Athir’s entry in the Aldahdah Index

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If you follow this blog regularly, then you must have already heard about the chestnut desert-bred stallion Mawj al-Athir: he is in the pedigree of the bay stallion from Syria, Hussam al-Shimal, now in France. He is also the sire of the pretty mare below, whose photo you have already seen before. Joe Achcar also … Read more

Photos of the Day: Hussam al-Shimal, Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq stallion from Syria in France

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This striking bay stallion who recently came to France from Syria has already been featured here before. Hussam Al-Shimal is a Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq from the old-established Stud of Saed Aghan Yakan in al-Bab, Syria. His sire is a desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Mussin called Raad who has also received a lot of visibility on this website. Hussam … Read more

Horse photos from France under the snow

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This morning I woke up to find these two pictures of horses from snowed-in France in my inbox.. the first one is from Clothilde Nollet of Maarena Arabians, and features her new acquisition Bint Fay Amy (Mahrouf x Fay Amy by Ibn Fa-Serr), a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah born in 1995 at the Babson Farm. The second … Read more

Video of the Day: Dandashi horsemen in Tall Kalakh, Syria in 1958

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Since the subject entry below was the Dandashi horse breeding clan of Tall-Kalakh, Syria, here is a 1958 YouTube video of Dandashi family members celebrating the union of Syria and Egypt into one single state with horse fantasias and other equestrian games with swords and spears. Note the pretty grey horse from 2.20 to 2.40 PS … Read more

Photo of the Day: Malek, Saqlawi Jadran from Lebanon

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My father took these two photos of the grey Lebanese stallion Malek in the mid 1980s, at the farm of Husayn Nasir in Rayak, Lebanon. Malek (Achchal x Bint Ghazwane by Ghazwane) was the last stallion of Lebanese breeding that did not trace to the infamous Iraqi-born part-bred Arabian racehorses thath flooded the Beirut racetrack in … Read more

The strain of Kuhaylan Abu Junub survives in Saudi Arabia

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I have always felt considerable sadness whenever an Arabian horse strain dies out. With it, part of the rich and colorful history of this breed vanishes forever. I can’t really say why, but to me it feels just like losing the last copy of a rare manuscript. Most of the best-known and most important Arabian … Read more

Photo of the Day: Murad Mandour, Shuwayman Sabbah colt in Italy

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Blog reader Elena Latici who lives in Italy recently bought this young fellow from Louis Bauduin’s farm in France. Murad Mandour (by Shuayman El Badawi x Murad Ouffah Habib by Jahir) is a bay Shuwayman Sabbah yearling who combines modern desert-bred blood from Syria (through his paternal grand-sire Mokhtar, bred by the Shammar Bedouins) with older desert-bred blood … Read more

Another picture of the desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Musinn stallion Ra’ad, from Syria

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One more picture of Omar Anbarji’s now deceased desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Musinn stallion Ra’ad, this time by a professional photographer. I think this is the fourth picture of him I post. I would like to familiarize readers with the foundation stock of the Syrian Arabians, because I feel they will become more and more significant in … Read more

Photo of the day: Malakah, Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah of Ibn Zubayni from Syria

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I took this photo of the venerable Malakah in 1990, at the stables of Syrian breeder Salih Khaddam al-Sruji, south of Damascus.  She was more than 30 years of age, which explain why her croup and legs look the way they do. Malakah was bred by the Mudarris family, an old Alepine  – ie, from … Read more

Hussam al-Shimal, another son of the desert-bred stallion Raad, in Syria

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Above is a distant photo of another son of the desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Musinn stallion Raad. This is Hussam al-Shimal, a Kuhaylan al-Nawwaq stallion from the marbat of Sa’ed Ameen Yakan, in al-Bad, north of Aleppo. Hussam is going to be sent to France where he will stand at stud with Arnault Decroix. I am no … Read more

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