Page 25 - History of Arabian Mission 1926-1957

A Medieval City
"The King hao changed but little oince X laot saw him," continued
Dr. Dame. "He was moot cordial in hia greeting and all during my two montus' The party spent three nights in the desert between Hofhuf and RLadh.
atay he wao over kind and cordial........He still captivates his callers by his They were thrilled when they saw its medieval appearance with walls, turrets,
charm and graciousness."
and crenellated roofs, and passed between aimed guards at the city gate. A
house belonging to one of the King's brothers was put at their disposal, and
Dr. Dame was given a place to work by the order of the King, had many they 6oon settled into a novel routine of housekeeping and work.
patients besides the august one for whom he had been summoned, and received
excellent (and unexpected) co-operation from the medical staff of the King's Mrs. Dame related: "The object of the trip to Najd was the medical
Department of Health. The chief surgeon, with whom Dr. Dame had most to do, treatment of two ladies of the King's household. Both were operated upon by
was bora in Mecca and educated at the French medical school in Beirut, with Dr. Dame and nursed with consummate skill and tenderness by Mrs. Van Peursem,
subsequent surgical training in Paris. ably assisted by Nurse Grace. The operations were performed in the country
castle, Bedia, some nine kilometers from Riadh. The first operation was the
The return of Dr. Dame and his party was several times delayed by ur­ more difficult and entailed constant after-care, so we moved out to Bedia end
gent requests from prospective patients from Jidda, Mecca, and Medina. One of lived there for two weeks, which gave us a real insight into the running of a
the most interesting Meccans was the Keeper of the Keys of the Koaba (House of Muslim home in general and of a royal household in particular. The peach or­
God). This office had been kept by his family since Mohammed appointed them, chard was in its prime then and we enjoyed our occasional excursions to it.
and this old man was very proud of the fact that the Koran charged their family
with this trust. He was over eighty years old and suffering from a malignant "When the second operation was performed and that patient was settled
illness, and in spite of his close proximity to the House of God was terribly in our wing of the castle with her children, servants and slaves, we moved back
afraid of death. Dr. Dame was a frequent visitor at his house and always to our town house and made daily visits, often spending the whole day. One
found the family very friendly and congenial. morning when Mrs. Van Peursem walked into this patient's room she encountered
a little old Bedouin woman. The two stopped and stared at each other incredu­
Taif is the hill station for the Holy Cities and is the summer capital lously. 'Whyi' exclaimed Mrs. Van peursem. 'aren't you Umm Nura7' (Mother of
for the Hejaz. It is six thousand feet above sea level and has long been Nura.) 'Yesi' excitedly replied the other, 'and you are no other than Xhatoon
) famed for its delightful climate, beautiful gardens, and general fertility. Lateefa, Umm Lulu I* (Mother of Pearl, the Arabic name of the Van Peursems'
daughter).
In the spring of 1933 Mrs. Dame accompanied her husband on a trip )
Hasa, where he was summoned by the governor. She spent three most interesting "The American missionary nurse and the little Arab woman had met again,
weeks, living in an Arab house, wearing Arab clothes, eating Arab food off a after a period of nineteen years. Umm Nura had been at that time in the
mat on the floor, and keeping herself in strict seclusion. She found the women Bahrain hospital with her sick daughter and now after these many years they
of the governor's palace delightful, friendly, and interesting, and had a won­ met and recognized each other in Central Arabia. To me it was one of the high
derful time visiting around in their houses. One of them, the daughter of the lights of the trip and an incidence of great significance."
governor and a social leader, laid down the law to Dr. Dame that he was never
to return to Hasa again without Salaha (Mrs. Dame's Arabic name). She did not Mrs. Van Peursem wrote, toward the end of their stay: "The hospitality
dream how soon her return would come, and the first trip proved to have been we have enjoyed ha3 been very cordial. Both Mrs. Dame and I have been accepted {
only a stepping-stone to a second and much larger one. -ir; members of the family as far as social position is concerned. The King
hol«l3 a reception every Friday for his women relatives - sisters, aunts, wives,
daughters and daughters-in-law. We have been invited to attend these. Evcry- I
A Call For A Woman body sits according to rank, the King's own full sisters by his mother sitting
nearest to him. We have been placed next to the youngest of these three i
In July a very urgent message come from the King himself for Dr. Dame sisters and ahead of the other nine. Wives do not rank as high as sisters.
to come to Riadh speedily, and to bring a Hakima - a lady doctor - or nurse. The King introduced us to those who had not met us previously, by telling them
This invitation was the very first that had included a request for women, so we were the only Christians he would invite to Riadh, that we were real true
it marked a new epoch in touring. Christians, missionaries, whose purpose was to spread their religion, and that
we were doing everything we did in the service of God. He had met Dr. Harrison
After hurried preparations a party set out by launch headed for OJeir, and Dr. Dame before, and we were all the same, That he admired us for our
on July 26, 1933. This included the Dames; Mrs. Gerrit Van Peursem (now the noble lives, zeal and honesty.
Hakeema); an Indian nurse, Grace Davis; Medina, a black woman and mission helper
for many years; and a staff of five hospital helpers and servants. "We considered this a great tribute from a Muslim King."
The Journey was made in three laps - launch from Bahrain to OJeir ^hen In 1934 Dr. Dame andDr. Thoms each spent three weeks in Qatar, and
by motor to El Hofhuf in Hasa, and then another motor convoy to Riadh. T*«rs Dr. Dame also visited Riadh.
consisted of two touring cars and three lorries, all packed like sardines with
people, bedding, tents, luggage, petrol, water, and various odds and ends -
even to a live sheep in one of the lorries.