June 25

27 June 2006
Wheat Harvesting Part II
So, I believe I previously wrote about the wheat harvest. Well, that was only part one. The wheat was cut by hand from the fields and carried by hand/mule/donkey to the families designated wheat drying place. Upon closer examination, I noticed that a lot of these wheat drying places are semi-circular flat bits of ground set back into the hillside. I had been seeing these circular bits and other random seeming structures before and wondered about them, but now all is clear. Well, not quite all, but you know what I mean. J
About a week ago, I noticed a strange humming noise, and some odd lights on one side of the village that I hadn’t noticed before. I asked about them but didn’t really understand the answer. But the humming (akin to the noise a snow-machine makes) continued, and the lights moved closer each night, so in a couple of days I had my answer. Three tractors pulling three wheat chopping/threshing/separating machines had come to town. These machines are from Turkey, and they are named Super Istanbul. Each family was being given a 2 or so hour slot of time, and then the entire family turns out to get the wheat into the machine, carry the wheat kernels away in 50 kg bags, and then carry the chaff away in HUGE bags. Depending on the family, some families had to carry their wheat to the machine and chop it on the road with big mats strung up to minimize the amount of chaff blown away. Others simply had the machine driven up to their harvest circle, and the chaff was blown into the high side, and caught by the stonewall there.
I went to go watch and help a little but soon enough it was our turn and I got some first hand experience. Getting the machine up the hill to our circle… obstacle one, made difficult by the fact that the road up to the circle is made up of loose rocks. Then, loading the wheat into the machine… hot wind and sun making the scene veiled in golden dust that magically turns your face black. I noticed some of the sheafs of wheat had mold growing on them… too much rain and not spread out well enough, I guess. It’s a frenetic pace. The machine chops fast so we hurried to keep up on both ends, bagging the wheat kernels and feeding the sheafs in. In an hour or so, the machine is done, and the drivers take it away to the next family. Leaving us to carry away the chaff (la3lun) and the bags of wheat. The cycle of family to family began each day before 6 am and ended around midnight. Families don’t necessarily work alone: friends and neighbors and extended family help out too. Those who help out can expect to have dinner provided for them by the people they helped. I benefited from that the day after my family got their wheat harvest taken care of. I had some of the best couscous I have yet had. Heavy on the black pepper, with turnips and chicken. Simple but delicious!
Also had a fascinating conversation about politics after that meal. It was begun by a trick lighter that actually casts out a color picture of Osama bin Ladin. I couldn’t stop laughing… so ridiculous! I kept thinking, I found Osama! He’s been hiding in a flashlight this whole time! The funny thing is that the brika (lighter) belongs to my sister, but she had no idea the political significance of the thing until a cousin explained it. Which helped her to understand my laughter a bit.