(CHAPTER XX)
PHILADELPHIA IS IN JORDAN
Dear Mum & All:
I am still alive & having a wonderful time fighting the Jews in Palestine. I am joining the Arab
Legion. As soon as it is possible I will send you my
address. Your loving son always,
Sidney
An English deserter to his mother
I WAS up at dawn to witness a sunrise that broke like a fireball over the wild Moab Mountains skirting the Dead Sea,
setting the valley ablaze with a thousand hues. Over the vast,
waveless sea, a delicate pink and blue-white haze floated like
an ethereal cloud. With the rising sun, Jericho came to life.
Sluices of the irrigation canals opened and the waters blessed
by Elisha—called the Fountain of Elisha—poured through
the lush gardens and fruit orchards. On the street in front of
the Belle Vue a donkey brayed plaintively. From somewhere
another donkey came running, and rubbed its neck against
that of its mate till it quieted down. This was the first and
last display of romance between the sexes that I saw in public
during my six months in the Arab world. When I arrived at
the marketplace it was already teeming with traffic, pedestrians, and idlers as taxis, trucks, and other traffic from Amman and Jerusalem passed through. Trucks were arriving with