* والقادم اليها من بلاد الافرنج يحتقرها ويستصغرها * واعظم ما حمل الفارياق فيها على العجب صنفان صنف القسيسين وصنف النسآء * اما القسيسون فلكثرتهم فانك ترى الاسواق والمنازه غاصّة بهم * ولهم على روسهم قبعات مثلثة الزوايا لا تشبه قبعات السوقيين فى الشام * وسراويلهم اشبه بالتبابين فانها الى ركبهم فقط * وسيقانهم مغطاة بجوارب سود * والظاهر انها عظيمة لان جميع القسيسين فى هذه الجزيرة معلّفون سمان * وقد جرت العادة عندهم ايضا بان القسيسين واهل الفضل والكمال من غيرهم يحلقون شواربهم ولحاهم * وانما يجب على القسيسين خاصة ان يلبسوا سراويلات قصيرة مزنّقة حتى يمكن للناظر ان يتبيّن ما ورآها *
As to the city, one coming to it from the lands of the east will find it handsome and mighty and one coming to it from the lands of the Franks will disdain it and regard it as paltry. Two classes of things most moved the Fāriyāq to wonder: the priests and the women. As for the priests, there are so many of them that you find the markets and parks swarming with them. They wear three-cornered hats on their heads that do not look like the hats of the Market-men of the Levant, and they wear drawers that are more like breeches, for they reach only to the knee, while their shanks are clothed with black hose. It seems that the island is a mighty place, for all the priests on it are well-fed and fat. It is also the custom there for the priests and other great men and good to shave their mustaches and beards. The priests specifically however have to wear short, form-fitting drawers, and the beholder can make out what is beneath them.
2.3.13
فاما النسآ فلاختلاف زيّهن عن سائر نسآ البلاد المشرقية والافرنجية * ولان كثيرا منهنّ لهن شوارب ولحًى صغيرة ولا يحلقنها ولا ينتفنها * وقد سمعت ان كثيرا من الافرنج يحبّون النسآ المتذكّرات * فلعل هذا الخبر الغريب بلغ ايضا مسامعهنّ * كيف لا واهوآء الرجال لا تخفى عن النسآ * والحسن فيهن قليل جدا * وانقيادهن الى القسيسين غريب * فان المراة منهن توثر قسيسها على زوجها واولادها واهلها جميعا * ولا يمكن ان تتخذ طعاما فاخرا من دون ان تهديه باكورته حتى اذا اكل منه اكلت هى *
As to their women, what surprised the Fāriyāq was the difference of their dress from that of the rest of the women of the Levantine and Frankish lands, and the fact that many have mustaches and short beards, which they neither shave nor pluck, and I have heard that many Franks are attracted to mannish women, so perhaps this strange fact may have reached their ears too (and how could it not, when men’s fancies are no secret to women?). Beauty is extremely rare among them, and their docility toward their priests is strange. A woman will sometimes favor her priest over her husband, her children, and the rest of her family. It is inconceivable for her to partake of some special dish until she has given him the first taste, and she will eat only after he has eaten.
2.3.14
وقد بلغنى ان امراة سوقية متزوجة اى من حزب شيخ السوق رات رجلا جميلا من الخرجيين فاستخسرته فيهم * وقالت لو دخل هذا الرجل كنائسنا لزادت بهجة ورونقا * فارسلت اليه عجوزا تدعوه اليها فلبّى الفتى دعوتها * لان عداوة السوقيّين والخرجيّين انما هى مقصورة على الضواطرة والنجشيّين والمحترفيّين لا مبلغ لها عند الرجال والنسآ * ففاضت معه فى الحديث الى ان قالت له ان كنت تتبع طريقنا فانى امكّنك من نفسى ولا امنع عنك شيا * فقال لها الشاب اما الذهاب الى الكنيسة فاهون ما يكون علىّ لكونها قريبة من منزلى * واما الاعتقاد فكلينى الى نيّتى * فانى آنف من هذا الاعتراف الذى يكلفكم به القسيسون من اهل كنيستكم * وليس من طبعى الكذب والتدليس حتى اعترف للقسيس بالصغائر واكتم عنه الكبائر * كما يفعله كثير من السوقيين * او اذكر له ما لم افعله واخفى عنه ما فعلته * فتاوّهت المراة عند ذلك واطرقت وهى تفكّر وتحرك راسها * ثم قالت لا باس انّا ليكفينا منك الظاهر كما افادنيه قسيسى * ثم تعانقا وتعاشقا وجعل يتردد عليها وعلى الكنيسة معا * حتى ان الزوانى فى هذه الجزيرة متهوّسات فى الدين * فانك تجد فى بيت كل واحدة منهن عدة تماثيل وصور لمن يعبدونه من القديسين والقديسات * فاذا دخل الى احداهن فاسق ليفجر بها قلبت تلك التماثيل فادارت وجوهها الى الحائط لكيلا تنظر ما تفعله فتشهد عليها بالفجور فى يوم النشور *
I was told about a married Market-woman, meaning one belonging to the party of the Market Boss, who saw a handsome Bag-man, and, deciding it was a pity he should be theirs, said, “If that man enters our church, it will grow in sparkle and allure.” She therefore sent an old woman to him to invite him to visit her, and the young man obeyed her invitation, for the enmity between the Market-men and the Bag-men is limited to the market traders, the people who connive to drive up prices, and the professionals, and has no impact on ordinary men and women. She talked to him at length and eventually told him, “If you follow our path, I will give you the freedom of my body and forbid you nothing.” The young man replied, “As to going to your church, nothing could be easier for me, for it is close to my house, and as to your creed, leave that to my conscience, for I reject that ‘confession’ that the priests of your church force on you. Lying and cheating are not in my nature that I should confess to the priest my peccadilloes and suppress my major transgressions, as do many Market-men, or tell him what I haven’t done and hide from him what I have.” At this the woman sighed and bowed her head, pondering and nodding. Then she said, “So be it. It will be enough for us if you conform outwardly, or so my priest informs me.” Then they embraced and made love, and he started paying visits to her and the church together. Even wantons on this island are obsessed with religion, and you’ll see in their houses numerous statues and pictures of the
