P.S. For context, first read the transcript of my conversation with Nasri in the Oral History section.

Nasri Talamas and I did a short “walk” on Google Street as he identified the different families that lived in his neighborhood of Jabal Araktingi. The details are below.

N.T: For the Gargour house, the wall you showed me on the road was not the wall of the house. Their house was set back, behind a garden. There were stairs that led up from the road all the way to the house, and the garden was on both sides of the stairs. Near the house, there was a small entrance that led to a workshop where they made Sirej. Sirej is the sesame oil used to make Halaweh. The Gargours had a workshop there. It was the house of Toufic Gargour, the father of Berthe Gargour, who later married to Alexandre Berouti.

N.T.: Turn left from the pharmacy to go up to Jabal Araktingi. The first house here was the house of Nagib Jabaji.

A.B.: How about this one?

N.T.: This one—forget it, I’m not sure. I don’t want to say something wrong. Now, keep going.

N.T.: Here, this used to be the Khouri house. I don’t know which Khouri. Everything has been altered. They (the Khouris) had a garden here. They (the Israelis) built a structure—this protrusion you see here—on top of the garden. Everything has been altered.

N.T.: Here, on the right, was the Bitar house.

N.T.: Across from the Bitar house was our house. All this you see here—the white stone wall structure—used to be a garden. This white stone wall didn’t exist. There were two garages—one on each side of the house—and a garden. Above the garages, there were verandas, and behind the verandas, another garden, and then the house. They demolished everything and built all this. In the back, there were columns and stairs. They completely remodeled the house. They changed everything here.

We lived on the first floor. Najla Tyan, Michel Tyan’s sister, also lived on the first floor, on the other side. On the second floor, there were two units. Right above us lived the family of Dr. Boureau. Nicolas Gargour’s family also lived on the second floor. He was the son of Toufic Gargour, who lived near the pharmacy, and he had two boys. The owner of the house was Tony (Antoine Gabriel) Berouti, and we rented from him.

N.T.: About ten years ago, I drew a sketch of what our house looked like to show my wife. Here is the drawing:

A.B.: It’s gorgeous, and so much nicer than the remodeled house.

N.T.: Yes. If you go up this side street, here, they destroyed the Berouti house.

A.B.: You mean, where the parking spaces are?

N.T.: Yes. Tony Berouti had a big house here where he lived. They demolished the whole house.

N.T.: On the left was the Danil (ضنيل) house—Fayek Danil—and it wasn’t this one. The Danil house was set much farther back, and there was a garden in front. This is a newer building, built where the Danil garden used to be. This building obstructs the original Danil house so we can’t see it from here.

Fayek Danil used to own an ice cream shop on Ajami street, near the police station.

N.T.: On the right, this was the Tyan villa, Michel Tyan’s. It was modified; they added floors, I think, and this front structure did not exist. Back then, It had a very large veranda on the other side overlooking le Jardin des coptes (The Coptic Garden). Leila Tyan, when she was born, lived in this house.

A.B.: And you are sure of this?

N.T.: 100% sure.

A.B.: Just to double-check, we are currently in Jabal Araktingi?

N.T.: Yes, this is Jabal Araktingi.

N.T.: Now, go back to our house. On the right of our house was the Gelat house. I think the son’s name was Elie Gelat. I forgot the father's name. He had a sister named Charlotte, I think.

N.T.: In front of the Gelat house, there was the Azouri house.

N.T.: This door leads to stairs and a small garden, and that’s where the Jabbour house was. You can’t see it from here. It overlooks a parallel street.

Jabbour house, Jaffa, 1948 — This entrance leads to Beit Jabbour’s house, which cannot be seen from the street.

N.T.: Then after that, here, I know his name was Elias. I forgot his last name.

N.T.: OK, here, do you see this white wall? Here, they modified the house of my grandfather, Dawoud Gelat. They lived here. They built on top. The Gelat house wasn’t two stories; it was just one.

N.T.: And across from it, where the parking lot is now, there was a property they rented, which was destroyed and no longer exists. And at the back, they had another property that was completely modified.

N.T.: Here, I remember there was an Orthodox priest who lived here: Beit S’eed (بيت صعيض). There was a garden here that they turned into a garage. Everything has been changed.

N.T.: Down here, this was the Khouri house, but I don’t remember which Khouri. It hasn’t been touched; I don’t know why.

A.B.: It looks abandoned.

N.T.: If you continue down—where the garden is—that was the Sayegh house. Toufic Sayegh, I think. His son, who was the same age as me, was called Nicolas. He lives in Vienna now.

N.T.: Down there, there are stairs, because what we call the Jabal is a hill. On this side, there is no road going down; there are stairs going down. At first, there are spaced-out stairs, and then regular stairs. But you can’t see them here.

A.B.: So, If we go back to the green pharmacy on Ajami Street, we know that the second house down, on the opposite side of the street, was Emile Nicolas Berouti’s family home.

A.B.: Across from the pharmacy (to the right), do you remember who lived in this big building?

N.T.: I don’t know; I can’t tell you for sure, but I think Albert Talamas lived there. I think he was married to a Debbas, but I’m not sure. He had three children: Emilie, Fredo, and Andrée. Fredo later worked for UNRWA and moved in Vienna, whereas Andrée moved to Athens.

A,B,: We’re going to keep going and go past the Latin church.

N.T.: Here, there was Armand Kettaneh’s house. His mother was a Talamas. The first floor was modified, and they put up shops there, including a women clothings shop. The destroyed the old window and put up a display window.

Jabal Araktingi, pre-1948

The National Agricultural Company Ltd