Syria

Photo of the Day: Raad, desert-bred Kuhaylan al-Musinn from Syria

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Blog reader and friend Omar Anbarji of Aleppo, Syria, sent me the following picture of his foundation stallion Raad, a desert-bred (yes) asil Kuhaylan al-Musinn, born in 1982, and now deceased. Raad was bred by Jamal Turki al-Saw’an, out the mare Nawal al-Kheil, and traces back to the famous marbat of Ibn ‘Amayir of the … Read more

Photo of the Day: Ibn Mouna I, ‘Ubayyan Hunaydis from Syria

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In the 1990s, Syrian breeder Mustapha al-Jabri, of Aleppo, owned a sturdy, deserty little mare that was bred by the Shammar of Mesopotamia. He name was Mouna, and her strain was very precious: ‘Ubayyan Hunaydis (Lady Anne Blunt: “Mutlaq [her Mutayr stud manager] says mazbut strain”). She had at least two sons and one daughter by Jabri’s … Read more

Photo of the Day: Dinar, Ma’anaqi Zudghum, a son of al-Aawar

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Ma’anaqi Zudghum is one of the most respected marabet of Sbayli, owned by a Bedouin of the Sba’ah tribe called Zudghum. Dinar’s sire, the Hamdani Simri al-Aawar, was pictured in an earlier entry. This photo was taken by my father at Mustafa al-Jabri’s stud in Aleppo, where Dinar, then a growthy two and a half … Read more

Photo of the day: Mahboob Halab

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Before I move to discussing the two stallions just imported from Syria to France, and following the posting of Shahm’s photos a couple days ago, I want to share with you a couple pictures of the second stallion, Mahboob Halab, a 4 year old Shuwayman Sabbah from the marbat of the Jarbah leading family of … Read more

Two asil stallions from Syria now in France

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Last week, I wrote about the quest of Robert Mauy’s friends, Jean-Claude Rajot and Louis Bauduin of France, to regenerate the bloodlines of their Arabian horses with the importation of stallions from the Arabian desert, or North Africa. Jean-Claude and Louis’ quest first took them to Tunisian and Algeria in the late 1980s. They saw many … Read more

“Hurrah! The five from Arabia have arrived…”

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Hence read the start of a journal entry Lady Anne Blunt wrote in 1911 (Lady Anne Blunt, Journals and Correspondence, edited by Rosemary Archer and James Fleming, 1986). The entry, brisking with excitement and enthusiasm, recorded the arrival at Sheykh Obeyd, Lady Anne’s Egyptian studfarm, of five of the choicest, best-authenticated desert-bred Arabian horses ever to get out of the … Read more

Kuhaylan al-Krush asil horses from Syria in Spain

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Clothilde Nollet of Maarena Arabians in France, just sent me this link to the website of a young Syrian lady, Dr. Ghasoub al-Abrash Ghalyoun, who moved to Spain and brought with her an asil mare from Syria, Karboujah (Sa’d x Roudeinah by Mas’huj), and her grey asil son Najm Ya’rob, by the stallion Fawwaz (Ayid x … Read more

More on special mares with long eyelashes: Bint Mawj al-Athir

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In the entry below, I wrote about how I liked arabian mares that have long eyelashes, which magnifies the human-like expression many of these mares have anyway. Below is a picture of of such mare. Bint Mawj al-Athir was an asil (heck, she is the mother of all asil) Kuhaylat al-Nawwaq (that’s the right spelling, other spellings include Nowag, … Read more

Two desert bred Kuhaylan al-Wati stallions with the Shammar in Syria

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Jean-Claude Rajot, who has lately been a frequent visitor of Syria (more on these visits later, including from Jean-Claude himself), sent me these photos of a couple horses in the stud of Hussain al-Ghishm in North Eastern Syria. Both horses are of the Kuhaylan al-Wati strain. The al-Ghishm, a family of ranking shaykhs of the … Read more

Two modern representatives of the Kuhaylan al-Krush strain

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I have written a lot about the Kuhaylan Krush strain recently, more particularly on the branch of that strain that has been associated with the Dawish leaders of the Mutayr tribe. The mares Dafina (to the UK in 1926) and probably El Kahila (to Egypt in 1927) are both representatives of this branch, and so are the three … Read more

Photo of the day: Al-Aadiyah, desert-bred mare from Saudi Arabia

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Another photo coming through “pure man” is that of the beautiful asil Arabian mare Al-‘Aadiyah (Al Wadah x Afaf), from the King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz government stud of Dirab, in Saudi Arabia. Al-‘Aadiyah is a Kuhaylah Umm ‘Arqub by strain. I recall reading somewhere that this particular strain had been owned by the Saud Royal Family … Read more

Query on French bloodlines in the USA

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In 1921-22, W.R. Brown imported a number of Arabian horses from France to the USA, for Army Remount purposes. Two of these horses, the mares *Kola (Latif DB x Destinee by Maksoude DB) and *Balkis II (El Hassan DB x Bedadine by Edhen DB) have left important lines in mainstream US Arabian horse breeding, *Kola through … Read more

Le Cri d’Alarme

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Je voudrais rappeler le cri d’alarme lancé par Monsieur Robert Mauvy ! :  “Renouvelant mon cri d’alarme, mon cri de désespoir ! Il faut absolument et à tout prix sauver ce qui reste du véritable Pur Sang Arabe. Il est impossible de laisser disparaître l’une des plus belles oeuvres du Créateur. Que l’initiative privée, que les … Read more

Strain of the Month: Kuhaylan al-Wati

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I don’t know where to start from.. the story of Kuhaylan al-Wati is so long and so rich, and begins way before the strain acquired its current name.. It also encompasses a number of other related, albeit better known strains. While I mull this over, let me leave you with this picture of Falat, a Kuhaylat … Read more

Menjad Maram al-Baida, an asil stallion in France (part 2)

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Part 1 introduced the young stallion Menjad Maram al-Baida, whose sire and dam were imported from Syria to France. Some people would refer to this horse as a “Straight Syrian”. I don’t like this phrase, nor any term with “Straight”. Others who know more than I do don’t seem to like it either. [Incidentally I wonder whether … Read more

Menjad Maram al-Baida, a young asil stallion in France (part 1)

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Recently I became aware of the existence of a young bay stallion of desert-bred stock that was bred in France, where he is now standing at stud. The name of this young stallion is Menjad Maram al-Baida, and his strain is Saqlawi Jadran (photo below, from his owners website). Menjad was bred by Mrs. Chantal Chekroun, … Read more

Strain of the Week: Mokhtar, a Krush al-Baida stallion in France

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A previous entry had discussed how the young children of Shammar Shaykh (and prominent Syrian politician) Mayzar Abd al-Muhsin al-Jarba lost the ownership of their father’s prestigious marbat of Kuhaylan Krush al-Baida strain upon the latter’s death (late 1960s? early 1970s?), and how the man Mayzar had entrusted with his assets took the horses for himself.  … Read more

Rare photo of the stallion El Obayan (Algeria)

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Another photo courtesy of Jean-Claude Rajot is of the stallion El Obayan, a ‘Ubayyan Sharrak, which the Veterinary Dr. Bardot bought in 1923 from the city of Hama in Syria, for the stud of Tiaret in Algeria. El Obayan was in the stall next to El Managhi, who was featured earlier.  In Algeria, El Obayan … Read more

Rare picture of the stallion El Managhi (Algeria)

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Jean-Claude Rajot just sent me this rare photo of the important desert bred stallion El Managhi, bought in 1923 in Hama (central Syria) by veterinary Dr. Bardot for the Algerian stud of Tiaret. The stallion Bango, bought in Alexandria was part of the same importation.  There is another picture of him in F. Klynstra’s book … Read more

Strain of the Week: Krush al-Baida at the Shammar today

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As I put the final touches of the fourth and last entry of the feature on the Krush al-Baida strain, take a second look at the three previous entries on this precious strain, here, here, and here. Also, check out this account of a conversation about Krush al-Baida with Shaykh Faysal ibn Sattam ibn Mayzar al-‘Abd … Read more

An account of ‘ghazu’ by Sheikh Hmeidi al-Dham of Shammar

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Some time in 1998 I had dinner with Sheikh Hmeidi al-Daham al-Hadi al-Jarba supreme sheikh of the Shammar tribe (qabilah) and its “satellite tribes” (acha’ir), as per his visiting card… When I asked him about the ghazu (tribal raids), Sheikh Hmeidi (Abu Faris) told me the following:  “The ghazu between large tribes was not quite … Read more

The young colt now grown

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Thanks Edouard so much for your wonderful post on Mubarak. It was not until 1996 that I had the pleasure of seeing this copper chestnut stallion of Ibn Ghurab at Al Basel the new government stud at the time. When I saw him I had the same reaction as you regarding how much like the … Read more

The young colt of Ibn Ghurab

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I first saw Mubarak in 1989 when an old truck disembarked a batch of three horses at the farm of Hisham Ghurayyib in Damascus, Syria.  I was told that the truck had just come from the desert area of al-Jazirah, “Upper Mesopotomia”. It was my first encounter with Arabian horses born and raised in the desert. … Read more

Photo of the day: Nawal (b. 1976)

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I thought I’d share this photo of Nawal with you, after the mention of the strain of ‘Ubayyan ibn Duwayhiss in a previous post of mine. ‘Ubayyan ibn Duwayhiss is a branch of ‘Ubayyan Sharrak owned by the Sba’ah tribe. Nawal was bred by Khairi Ajil al-Dibs, of the Aqaydat semi-nomadic sheep herding tribe, on the … Read more

Strain of the week: Kuhaylan al-Mimrah (final)

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Kuhaylan al-Mimrah: so where were we? In the last post about this strain, we had left it in the hands of the Muwayni’ section of the Sba’ah tribe, to which the Mimrah clan belongs. Today, the noble section of Al-Muwayni’ is split between Syria and Saudi Arabia but no longer owns horses from this famous … Read more

Shaykh al-‘Arab, forgotten king of a lost kingdom

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The dark chestnut stallion Shaykh al-‘Arab is one of the foundation stallions of the (now defunct) Lebanese Asil Arabian horse breeding. Born in the desert somewhere between Hims and Palmyra, he was bred by Rakan ibn Mirshid, Shaykh of the Gomussah section of the Sba’ah Bedouin tribe in the 1930s, then sold to Beirut for … Read more

Famous quote: Lady Anne Blunt on Faris al-Jarba

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Since the last couple posts have been about mares of the Shuwayman Sabbah strain bred by the Shammar, here is a quote from Lady Anne Blunt‘s “Bedouin tribes of the Euphrates” (p. 235) that had a lasting impression on me:  “Faris’s own mare is a tall bay, Shuéymeh Sbàh, with a powerful shoulder, great girth, … Read more

Strain of the week: Krush al-Baida goes north

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One day in 2006, my friend Hazaim al-Wair and I, intrigued by the addition of “al-Baida” to the strain of many (not all) Kuhaylan al-Krush horses in the Syrian studbook, made a number of phone calls to inquire about the owner of the marbat of Krush al-Baida. All the roads led to one Shaykh of Shammar by the name of Mayzar al-‘Abd … Read more

Photo of the day: Shaddad

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Since it’s easier to share photos than write long articles, I thought I’d post this picture of one of my favorite Asil stallions from Syria. Shaddad (Marzouq x Asila), a Ma’naghi Zudghum (a prestigious branch of Ma’naghi Sbayli), is here pictured as a colt, with a groom and myself standing nearbyThe photo was taken at … Read more

Book: Desert Legacy, in Search of Syria’s Arabian Horses, by J. Sannek and B. Loewenherz

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In 1997, Jens Sannek and Bernd Loewenherz published what is perhaps the most interesting book to be written in recent times by Western travelers looking for Arabian horses in their original homeland. Traveling with a party of about 14 people which included French preservation breeders Jean-Claude Rajot, Louis Bauduin and Benoit Mauvy, as well as several young children, and joined by Syrian guides and … Read more

Clay horse statue: age 4300 years

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Did you know that evidence of the domestication of horses by man dated back to at least 4,300 years ago?  This conclusion was reached by University of Chicago archaelogists following the discovery in 1993 of a clay figurine representing a horse at an excavation site in North Eastern Syria. The site, Tell es-Sweyhat, which is … Read more

The stallions of Ibn ‘Ufaytan

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[This is the third in a series of four posts on the Ma’anaghi Hadraji marbat of Ibn ‘Ufaytan. Click here and here to access the first and second posts.] We reached the village of Ibn ‘Ufaytan [update July 17 2008: the village is Buthat al-Taqch] in the early afternoon, after having taken a dirt road that … Read more

Photo of the day: Nomah, a Kuhaylat al-Mizher

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Here’s a headshot of the pretty desert-bred mare Nomah, a Kuhaylat al-Mizher (some say Kuhaylat Ibn Mizher) from the Bedouin tribe of Tai, in North-Eastern Syria. Nomah, which was owned by B. Jadaan, was one of the most photographed Syrian mares, but this is one of her earlier photos.  I have heard several people say that Kuhaylan Ibn Mizher … Read more

Hats off

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to Monika Savier from (from Italy), Karsten Scherling (from Germany) and Mahmud Abbas (from Syria) who created the WAHO 2007 Conference Syria website.  One could spend hours watching the thousand photos and videos. Thank you.  

Photo of the day: desert bred Jilfa Stam al-Bulad mare

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The mare in this picture is desert bred, from the strain of Jilfan Stam al-Bulad. Her breeder is an old Bedouin from the al-Yassar section of the tribe of Tay. The picture is frm the early 2000s, and I think that mare is still breeding today.  She is of interest because she traces to a stallion of the Dahman … Read more

El Nasser: the new information

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Back to El Nasser. An earlier post identified his sire, “Douhaymane El Ajarrache”, as a Dahman (or Duhayman) ‘Amer from the al-‘Ajarrash family of the Shammar Bedouin tribe. “Douhayman El Ajarrache” was actively breeding in 1937, when El Nasser’s dam was bred to him to produce El Nasser in May 1938. Last year – and here is the fresh information … Read more

El Nasser: what we already know

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The starting point of any serious discussion on El Nasser should be a short statement in Judith Forbis’ “Authentic Arabian Bloodstock”, p. 137, where she cites a letter from Henri Pharaon, the one-time owner of El Nasser.   “Pharaon wrote to me on October 6th, 1970 that El Nasser was born on May 1938, that he had purchased the horse from … Read more

Ibn Ufaytan

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My fourth feature in the “Strain of the Week” series is late. This time, I will be telling you about the Ma’anaghi Hadraji strain, and in particular about the marbat (Bedouin stud) of Ibn ‘Ufaytan of Shammar.  Meanwhile, here is a picture of Faddan Ibn ‘Ufaytan (left), the Shammar Bedouin who owns the strain, which we took … Read more

Kuhaylan Ibn Jlaidan: a photo and a hujjah

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I found a picture of a Kubaylat Ibn Jlaidan to show you, as well as a writtten certificate of origin (hujjah, plural hujaj). The picture, taken in the mid 198os, does not do justice to the mare, and I hesitated a bit before posting it: it shows a chestnut desert-bred mare in rather poor condition, against a … Read more

Kuhaylan Ibn Jlaidan

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Kuhaylan Ibn Jlaidan is the third strain featured in the “Strain of the Week” series.  You will almost certainly not find a representative of this strain outside of Arabia today. A few of you may have heard of it in the context of their trips to Syria. The strain is emblematic of the Shammar tribe, as … Read more

My top ten

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It tends to change every other day. For what it’s worth, here is today’s top ten: 1. Reem al-Oud, (Ubayyan Suhayli x Ubayyah Suhayliyah) desert bred from the Shammar tribe, born ca. 1980 2. Reema, (Ma’anaghi Sbayli x Hamdaniyah Simriyah) desert bred from the Aqaydat , born ca. 1975 3.  Jauza, (Dahman Shawan x Kuhaylat al-Krush) desert … Read more

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