Syria

An amusing event

May 15, 2009

1926 Since Damascus is at an intersection of many roads the cultivated plants here have an alien character. But no doubt there are also endemic plants here. I had never expected to see such large, thick-skinned grapes as I encountered in the markets of Damascus. The composition of wheat strains turned out to be extremely [...]

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Wheat in Lebanon

May 13, 2009

The cultivated variety that Vavilov described near the village of Hawran is still grown to some extent, as are a few varieties such as Salamouni, which is ideally suited for making bulgur, a cracked cereal used in tabbouleh. However, while the locally adapted varieties suited to bulgur and another traditional dish, kishk, have persisted in [...]

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Damascus

May 13, 2009

1926 There we were in the oldest city in the world, famous Damascus. Its geographical location is really remarkable. It is situated in the centre of desertlike mountains at an altitude of 1500 metres and in a depression where water streams down the slopes. Surrounded by a sterile desert, Damascus itself is like a sea [...]

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A white handkerchief on a stake

May 12, 2009

1926 Severe bouts with malaria hampered my own work considerably. Instead of trying to collect the crumbling wild wheat and wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum) under difficult circumstances, it was necessary to rest in bed for several hours a day. The warlike state of affairs in Khoran made it necessary to hasten the investigation [...]

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The source of Khoranka wheat

May 8, 2009

1926 The very first excursions to Arabian villages revealed fields which displayed wheats of a peculiar composition. Here I collected for the first time the basic subspecies which I later named the ‘Khoranka’. This is a remarkable, large-grained, hard wheat with stiff straw and highly productive, compact ears. At present the Khoranka has already been [...]

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Expedition in Syria

May 6, 2009

1926 It was difficult to select a less suitable time for an expedition to Syria. When I presented my passport with the French visa in the port of Beirut it provoked great suspicion. Nobody wanted to believe that any French authority had issued a visa to a Soviet citizen (according to the authorities somebody definitely [...]

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