I put on my most good-natured face and raised my hand as if to reach into my money bag once again. This was too much for him; he could not resist. In a tone of voice which made it seem that any payment for the coffee was simply impossible, he handed me the five francs: “I also give these to you!” Ever so slowly and in a way that would not diminish the pleasure of this scene, I took back the money, put the coins in my bag, and answered him: “So, I give in to your kindness, and I accept your present. I thank you. Live long and well! May Allah bless you and your house for your noble generosity towards all foreign guests!”
Since we didn’t want to hurry and thereby lessen the great effect of our departure, we slowly stood up and watched the expression on his face. Acting as if he wanted to keep us there, he held up his outstretched arms. His mouth gaped open. Upon his face lay an expression of confused dismay, one which bordered on outright shock. He was speechless, uttering neither word nor sound. To make up for lost time, the horses fell into a trot. When we came to the next curve in the road where we looked back, the man still stiffly stood there in the same spot. What followed was whole-hearted laughter—even the Arabic coachman joined in the fun.
The rest of the trip provided a lot of historical points of interest, which at the time seemed to have no connection to the former events. In Ain ed Dirwe, there is a beautiful hewn-stone fountain where the 8th chapter of Acts describes how the Christian Apostle Phillip converted and baptized the Ethiopian Queen Candace’ royal treasurer. Farther on, we came across the ruins of Beth Zur, the “house of rock,” just southwest of Jerusalem. Chapter 15, verse 58 in the Old Testament Book of Joshua notes the importance of Beth Zur in the time of the Hebrew hero Judas Maccabeus. Chapter 3, verse 16 of The Book of Nehemiah also cites its history.
A half hour later and perhaps 400 steps on the left-hand side of the roadway, we came to the large stone structure of Abraham’s Cistern, more commonly called “Abraham’s Well.” At this place, we still had a lot to keep us thoroughly busy. Regarding this famous site, I offer one of my wife’s photographs. There in the corner, I am sitting on the edge of the Cistern, clothed like an Arab—except for my bare head. Forward and to the right, is the Arabic Donkey Driver, whom I will introduce later on.
Before reaching this place near the city, imagine long ago when there were vineyards and gardens that even in olden times had a reputation for their good fruits. For example, it’s said that this is where Moses’ military scouts visited Hebron’s Brook of Eschcol and cut the gigantic cluster of grapes which they carried back to the camp of the Israelites as a proof of the fruitfulness of the land (Numbers 13: 23). From here to the city, it takes only a half hour.
In earlier days, whenever I traveled to Hebron, I called on my venerable and extraordinarily agreeable old acquaintance, Jew Eppstein. Since he comes from Germany, he speaks German exceptionally well. Regarding the local hatred of Christians which every German assumes to be the case, he very weakly subscribed to that prejudice. Since I was following Mustafa Bustani’s travel plans, today I was unable to visit Eppstein. By stopping at a Jew’s place, Mustafa would have forever damaged his reputation.
So we drove on, arriving at the address of one of his business friends, a place that had enough room to accommodate the horses and carriage. Was it also possible for him to accept my wife and me? Fortunately, he was a man who was among the few broad-minded, tolerant believers who live in Hebron. After some hesitation, we were taken in— but separate from Mustafa and his son. For us, there was a small, four-cornered room that had no windows. In order to have light, we had to leave the door open, which also let in the stinky, filthy air from the farmyard. If we were bold and daring enough, we could sit upon the room’s single piece of furniture, a straw mat. After spending a half hour in there, someone brought us an old pitcher of stagnant water that was not drinkable.
When we sought answers to our questions, we could learn nothing more than this: due to the fact that we were Christians and not Muslims, this was the only kind of water that he was permitted to offer us. Besides, no one else would be permitted to drink from our pitcher, because it would now be considered “unclean.” So, this was the hospitality of a so-called “tolerant” Muslim. How would we have fared with one who was intolerant? I asked Mustafa Bustani to come to our room. He came and brought along Thar. He apologized. The man told him that we had been well taken care of—befitting our social standing. We informed Mustafa that we now preferred to go to Jew Eppstein’s.
Right away, Thar was determined to accompany us. His father didn’t object. As much as Mustafa wished , he couldn’t do otherwise. Now that he was already there, he pointed out the necessity of the meeting and the visit; this situation placed a demand upon him, but these matters didn’t obligate his son. Thus, he was thankful that we wanted to take Thar with us. First of all, Mustafa suggested that he go to the Arab who had wanted to sell the saddle. It was on account of this saddle that he had made the journey, so it was readily understood that this matter had been settled earlier. At this time, my wife spoke up: “Since it is Friday, are you allowed to buy and sell?” Mustafa answered: “In this case, yes. We don’t live here, so we are considered passers-by and customers who can’t wait.”
My wife reasoned further: “After all, we too are part of the hospitality reserved for passers-by, courtesies for those who can not wait. Why are Muslims pliable when it comes to making money, yet harshly inconsiderate whenever it comes to showing love and kind-heartedness to those same foreigners?” Mustafa Bustani pleaded his case: “According to Islam, hospitality belongs to those who are virtuous, and no one is released from this obligation.” She pressed him further: “Also when it comes to other religious faiths?” Unequivocally, he answered her: “Yes, this is true for Christians, Jews, and heathens.”