A friendship story Isaiah, Alexio, Adrian and Mohamed
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Written by students from Paolo Borsellino School Mazara 2nd E Asaro Chiara Boulafiar Manor FoderĂ Alessia Favoloso Caterina Frazzetta Noemi Gancitano Alice La Melia Martina Lanza Valeria Maniscalco Manfredi Marino Federica Piccione Lorenzo Raifi Giuska
Story created and illustrated by English teacher Rocco Spanò
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Contents Pag. 5
Mazara
Pag. 6
Isaiah and his family
Pag. 7
Isaiah’s mum
Pag. 8
Alexio and his family
Pag. 9
Alexio’s mother
Pag. 10
Adrian and his family
Pag. 11
Mohamed and his family
Pag. 12
Isaiah, Mohamed, Adrian and Alexios play in a courtyard
Pag. 14
The history in Sicily and Spain
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A friendship story
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Mazara
The story takes place in Mazara in 1492. When you visit the old town center in Mazara you understand it is an old Arab town. In the middle Ages, after the coming of the Normans, there are four different ethnic groups in Mazara: Latin, Greek, Muslim and Jewish. Their simultaneous presence is due to the fact that Mazara was and is still one of the most important cities of western Sicily, crossroads of peoples, strategic point for trade and economic activity in the Mediterranean area. In the ancient town, there are four districts: St. Francis, St. John, Giudecca and Xitta. In these neighborhoods, not far from each other, the different communities live together peacefully. St. Francis (north-west of the quadrangle of the ancient walled city) is the Islamic quarter for excellence. The district takes its name from the convent of St. Francis of Assisi. Here we are in the heart of the Kasbah: : Narrow, winding streets keep safe the population from sun, wind and from the attacks of enemies, blind alleys, courtyards with wells and stacks, arches and tufa stone steps. And this is where, today as yesterday, most Tunisians and Moroccans live. The Jew population lives in the neighborhood of Giudecca (northeast of the quadrilateral). The Latin population live in the eastern part of the city and specifically in the neighborhood of St. John, which includes the main streets, public buildings and noble house. The Greek population lives in the area closest to the river mouth 5
After reading exercise
Click and answer the question 6
Isaiah and his family
Isaiah is a Jew boy; he lives in Mazara, in Giudecca’s quarter just in front the St. Francis and St. John quarter. He is 18 years old. He has big brown eyes, short brown hair and a big mouth. He is not very tall. He likes wearing red T-shirt (red is his favorite color) and blue trousers. He always wears a red cap but he often wears a dirty apron to work with his father. He hates this apron. He likes listening to music and playing chess with his parents and his friends. He likes playing because he can stay with young people. His best friends are Mohamed, Alexios, and Adrian. They meet in the courtyard where they can play and stay together. He dreams to become a chess champion. His family is not poor but he must help his father in his smithy. Isaiah does not like working in the smithy, but his family needs his help. His family sometimes goes to the Synagogue to pray. The Synagogue is not far from his house. Nowadays you can see the ruins of the Synagogue in the Church of Saint Augustine in Giudecca’s quarter. His father (Amos) is very thin and he often feels bad when he is at work. He is 40 years old. He has black eyes and brown hair. He is not very tall. He loves his job. In his free time, he goes with his friend and they play marbles. He enjoys it. He dreams to have a big house. 7
After reading exercise
Click and complete the exercise. Put the verbs in the past simple
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Isaiah’s mum
Isaiah’s mum (Ariel) is beautiful. She has blue small eyes and brown smooth long hair. She is tall. She is 37 years old. She usually wears typical Jewish dress and she likes cooking. In her free time, she meets other people in the courtyard where they can speak and work together. She likes playing “fly blind” with her friends. Tamar is Isaiah’s sister. She is a tall girl. She is 18 years old. She is a little shy. She has curly long brown hair. She is beautiful. She likes staying with her friends and playing the lute. She often helps her mum cooking, but she does not like it. Sometimes they go to the park and play medieval games with Latin, Greeks and Arabs families: the marbles, the fly blind, the blow of wood. Families spend a lot of time in the courtyard where they can meet other people and they can stay together.
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After reading exercise
Click and answer the questions
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Alexio and his family
Alexio is 14 years old; he lives in Mazara, just in front of the sea. He is tall and thin, he has green eyes and brown hair, small nose and small lip. He is Greek and he works in the country with his father, sometimes he plays with his friends, he likes to play marbles and chess. He likes playing chess and his best friends are Isaiah, Mohamed and Adrian. Sometime they meet in front of the sea and play chess. They are happy to stay together. Alexo’s dad name is
Achillios. He is well built and he is tall. He often wears comfortable clothes because he works in the fields and he likes wearing his straw hat. He is a loving father and a good husband but also a good worker; Achillios wakes up early in the morning and goes to work and when he returns, late at night, he is always tired but happy. In his free time, he always goes with Alexio to fish.
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After reading exercise Read again and put the verbs in the past simple
Click and complete the exercise: put the verbs in the pst simple
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Alexio’s mother
Alexio’s mother is Daphne. She is housewife. She loves cooking. She is thin and short. She has long brown and straight hair, small green eyes and a long face. She usually wears a dress, a blouse and nice shoes. She is happy when her son is at home because he can play with other boys. She knows all boys and girls are good friends and families don’t worry about the religious difference because they respect their belief.
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After reading exercise
Down: 1: What’s Alexio’s mother name? 2: What colour are her eyes? 3: What colour is her hair? 7: What do all families respect? Across: 4: What does she usually wear? 5: What does she like to do? 6: How does she look like? 8: What does her son do with other boys? 9: How is her face?
complete the crossword
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Adrian and his family
Adrian is a Latin boy; he is thin and he is not very tall. He is 12 years old. He has brown eyes and brown hair. He likes playing with his friends. He is a lovely child and fun. He lives in S. Giovanni neighborhood. He likes to be with nature, he likes listening to the birds and watching the sky. He is generous. He works with his father in their bakery where they make bread. Their bread is the best in town and all people go there and buy some. Jew, Greek and Muslim go there and buy their bread. When people go and buy their bread they speak about life and about their children because all of them meet in the courtyard. In the afternoon. Adrian goes to the main square to meet his friends and they play chess. Adrian's mother name is Anna. She is tall and thin. She is 38 years old. She has brown hair and light blue eyes and she is housewife but sometimes she works with them and she makes bread, too. In the afternoon, she likes sewing wool.
She likes sewing because she meets other people in the courtyard and they can see their children playing outside their house. Children are very safe when they play there.
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After reading exercise Choose the correct answer
Click and complete the exercise
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Mohamed and his family
Mohamed is a Muslim boy. he lives in the neighborhood called S. Francesco. He is 15 years old. He is tall, thin and very nice, he has brown hair and big dark eyes. He has small nose and thin lips.He likes playing with his friends but most of all with his family, he is very sociable and friendly with everyone, but very determined. Mohamed’s mother is very tall, thin with long brown curly hair and very big brown eyes. She has a small mouth and big eyes. She is very creative and she likes staying with her family. His father sells carpets in the town market. He makes carpet at home and all people knows he is a good worker and he makes very nice carpets. He likes his job and he is proud of his son. Mohamed helps his father selling carpet because he does not know jet how to make carpets 17
After reading exercise Gap-fill exercise: Read again and put the verbs in the past simple
complete the exercise: put the verbs in the past simple
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Isaiah, Mohamed, Adrian and Alexio play in a courtyard
Boys can play safely in the courtyard because their parents can see them from their house. Boys and parents do not care about religious aspect and let them stay together. Their fathers are playing, too. They play together because they know each other very well. They meet at the market, at the bakery and in the smithy.
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While men are playing chess in a courtyard………….
Women are sewing together and look after their children playing musical instruments.
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THE HISTORY IN SICILY AND SPAIN
Ferinand and Isabella
Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs King Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.Several months after the fall of Granada an Edict of Expulsion was issued against the Jews of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella (March 31, 1492). It ordered all Jews of whatever age to leave the kingdom by the last day of July. Ferdinand and Isabella ordered the forced expulsion or conversion of all Jews on pain of death. Bianca I di Navarra and Martino I di Sicilia cached the Spanish edit and the date of the expulsion was extended from 18 September 1492 to 12 January 1493. The Edit was translated in Sicilian. Many Sicilian Jews fled to neighboring Calabria where the Spanish Inquisition caught up with them again fifty years later. Not all of the Sicilian Jews departed. A large number of Sicily's Jews converted to Catholicism and remained on the island.
VicerĂŠ Gaspare De Spes
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Bibliography
F. Renda – Storia della Sicilia, vol. II - Sellerio, Palermo.
F. Renda – La fine del Judaismo siciliano – Sellerio, Palermo
M.S. Messana - Il santo ufficio dell’inquisizione, Sicilia 1500-1782 I.P.E.
S. Simonsohn – Tra Scilla e Cariddi – Viella.
A. Scandaliato, N. Mulè – La sinagoga e il bagno rituale degli ebrei di Siracusa - Giuntina.
S. Luzzati, R. Della Rocca – Ebraismo - Electa
B. e G. Lagumina – Codice diplomatico dei giudei di Sicilia - Palermo.
A. Scandaliato – Judaica minora sicula – Giuntina.
http://www.mazara.altervista.org/iquartierinellacittaantica.html
www.ilportaledelsud.it
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