Goatherd

Looking up from the center of Rmaich, a Christian town lodged on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, a sun-wizened Lebanese goatherd points to a cluster of pine trees on a ridge.

'Oh, yes. A man was brought to us about a year ago. There'd been a big storm along the southern sector of the Taklamakan. It went on for four or five days. This man was a goatherd from Tongguzbasti. He'd gone out into the desert in search of tamarisk, along with a camel for the load. At midday he had some bread and water and lay down for a sleep. When he woke there was a storm the like of which he'd never seen before. There was nothing for it but to hunker down and make the best of it; but at some point - whether it was day or night he couldn't say - he found himself on his feet, shouting and screaming at the noise, and walking for what must have been miles.'