Turkey’s Border Crisis
This week I’ve continued to work on the third book of the Ancient Elements series, The Phoenician Coin, as the main character, Sam, nears his goal of finding his uncle in Tyre. Sam’s father, Dagon, also takes further steps toward his goal of seeking revenge on Sam and Sam’s uncle (Dagon’s brother) for the misfortunes Dagon believes they have caused him. As I completed a chapter that saw Dagon and his Babylonian caravan travel west and then south from the area now known as northern Syria, drawing closer to his destination of Tyre, I included the caravan’s course on this map, as seen below.
Then, just this morning, I saw the geographic area I’m writing about come to life as I viewed the news. Today’s news also took me to a picture that showed a man lifting a girl over a barbed wire fence as these Syrians fled the war in their town of Tal Abyad and attempted to illegally enter Turkey. This occurred near Akcakale’s border crossing (Akcakale forms a divided city with Syria’s Tal Abyad) Be sure to view this image at the linked site. If you compare a modern-day map of this area with Dagon’s caravan route, you can see that the towns of Tel Aybad and Akcakale are just north of Dagon’s route.
I also watched the VOA news clip showing that, as of June 25, these refugees began to return to Tal Abyad, since coalition bombings and fighting from the Kurds and Syrian rebel forces helped to oust ISIS from Tal Abyad.
I miss teaching social studies to middle school students, especially when current events relate to areas covered in the curriculum. At least here in California, students study ancient civilizations, including this area of Ancient Mesopotamia, in 6th grade social studies. Since I’m not in the classroom anymore unless I get to do an author visit, I relish the opportunity to write books for this age group, such the Ancient Elements series.
If you haven’t read book one of the Ancient Elements series, The Bronze Dagger, we’re having a drawing of three free books July 25 for those who enter below. If you’ve read it, send the link to a friend and encourage them to enter. Book two, The Alabaster Jar, is now in the design stage as the publisher works on the cover. Hopefully The Alabaster Jar will be out by the end of July. Book three, The Phoenician Coin, should wrap up its writing stage by mid-July, then move on to the editing phase, with a possible publication date by the end of the year. Sign up below to enter the free drawing, and encourage friends to do the same!
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