Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Damascus, SANA-Do you know that British crime novelist, short-story writer and playwright, Agatha Christie, was in Aleppo City in Syria when she wrote her famous crime novel (Murder on the Orient Express)?
Regarded as one of Agatha Christie’s greatest achievements, Murder on the Orient Express was first published as a novel in 1934.
Christie is best known as the ingenious plotter of scores of murder mysteries, but the queen of crime also wrote a very personal memoir of the archaeological trips she made to the ancient ruins of Syria.
She visited several Syrian cities with her husband, British researcher, historian and archaeologist, Max Mallowan between 1935 and 1937, during the latter’s excavation trips in the Syrian al-Jazeera region.
Christie had her honeymoon with her husband, Mr. Mallowan, in the village of Ain al-Arous on the banks of Balikh River and the beautiful forests of Ain al-Arous and its wonderful archaeological hills, northeastern Syria.
The towns, rivers and hills of al-Jazeera – full of secrets, mystery and magic – inspired the British writer with ideas to write her novels, among them the town of Tel Halaf, about which she said:
“This quiet town near the Khabour River in Ras al-Ayn region spreads an indelible joy in my memory, I did not believe that a day would come when I could visit this place. In fact, it is a charming and magical area… This is the Khabour River, which flows into the Euphrates… How beautiful it is! And it surrounds the foot of the hill and embraces it”.
Agatha Christie had a lot of passion for the city of Aleppo, where she visited all the famous areas and was fascinated by its stadium and ancient oriental markets, as well as its monuments, which were a source of inspiration for her in her novels.
In Aleppo, she stayed at the Hotel (Baron) that was the destination of famous figures and in the same place, she wrote her famous detective novel (Murder on the Orient Express).
Translated by: Ruaa al-Jazaeri
