This Day in History November 25, 1759

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It never ceases to me amaze me how many things happened on any given day in history, and in today's society, it is easier than ever to find information (and misinformation).  On this day in 1759, there was a  natural disaster that occurred that obliterated a good portion of Beirut and Damascus.  This earthquake was unlike what I have heard before because it came in two waves nearly a month apart.  I am used to hearing about aftershocks that occur within in hours and days.  But here's how this one went.

On October 30, 1759, the first (and lighter) of the quakes occurred.  Two thousand people died in Safed and other areas (this is in modern-day Israel area).  It registered about 6.6 on the Richter scale.  This was bad, but not as bad as what came later.

On November 25, 1759, the second and most devastating of the quakes came.  It was 7.4 on the Richter scale, and it lasted twice as long as the one less than a month before.  There were several aftershocks, and these continued even a month or two later.  It is estimated that the entire set of earthquakes could have claimed as much as 20,000 lives.  While we don't have all the best records of everything in this area, we do know that the damage in Damascus and Beirut was significant.

For more information:
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004AGUFM.T41F1294D
http://www.ipgp.fr/~klinger/page_web/biblio/publication/Daeron_geology05.pdf
http://www.earth-prints.org/bitstream/2122/908/1/01Sbeinati.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_East_earthquake_of_1759

This Day in History September 27, 1962

By Map_of_North_and_South_Yemen.png: Orange Tuesday Flag_of_North_Yemen.svg: B1mbo, with subsequent precision by Fry1989 and Alkari Flag_of_South_Yemen.svg: Dbenbenn, with subsequent precision by Fry1989 and Alkari Governorates_of_Yemen_named.svg: Jarke derivative work: Mnmazur [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I am so glad we live in a free country where I can write what I want.  And on this date in 1962, the old Ottoman Empire was dismantled, and the Yemen Arab Republic came into being.  And thus began civil war between the North and the South. In 1990, they finally unified.

Yemen holds a very special place in my heart.  I have only been on one mission trip in my life, and Yemen is where I went.  I was married at the time, and I think it was the summer of 2000 (if I remember right).  I was married, and we went off to Yemen on a short-term missions trip with the Southern Baptists.  We worked in the hospital in Jibla, Yemen, and we spent three weeks there.  It is a three weeks I shall never forget.  Later on, three of those missionaries were killed, and we had known two of them.  It is still strange to write that I knew missionaries who were martyred for their faith.

I said what I did about a free country earlier because I am aware of the current unrest in the Middle East, and I am happy to know that I can still write about something like this with no fear of reprisal.  I still think of Yemen in positive terms, but when I hear about all the anger and violence, I am reminded of the eerie sounds coming from the village mosque every morning.  I remember hearing the "sermon" every Friday afternoon.  I remember the sadness in the eyes of women who were imprisoned for killing an abusive husband.  I may never know if my life touched anyone during the time i was there, but I hope and pray that I will see some of those wonderful Yemeni women again.

And as a side not, Yemen is the site of the best fish I have ever eaten.  Nothing like seasoned, blow-torched fresh fish.  And I am not joking!

For more information, please check out:
http://www.conservapedia.com/Yemen
http://www.tutorgigpedia.com/ed/Yemen_Arab_Republic
http://famousdaily.com/september27.html