Author: Malcolm Billings

Paul Holberton Publishing, 2012.

200 pages, 170 illustrations.

Hardback, £25, ISBN-13: 978-1907372438.

Reviewed by Frances Spiegel

Vartan of Nazareth: Missionary and Medical Pioneer in the Nineteenth-century Middle East commemorates the 150th anniversary of the founding of Nazareth hospital. Written by journalist and broadcaster Malcolm Billings, the book presents the history of the Nazareth hospital from the opening of the original eight-bed hospital in 1867, through World War I, the British Mandate, the founding of the State of Israel, right up to the present day. The hospital still maintains a close relationship with members of the Vartan family: John Vartan, Pacradooni's great grandson, commissioned this book.

The Remarkable Pacradooni Kaloost Vartan

Our hero, Pacradooni Kaloost Vartan (1835-1908), was a remarkable man. Born in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), he was educated at the city's American missionary school. While serving with the British army as an interpreter in the Crimea, Vartan witnessed the terrors of inadequate medical facilities and decided to travel to Edinburgh to train as a surgeon at the Edinburgh Medical Missionary Society (EMMS).

After his training,Vartan, sponsored by the EMMS, travelled to Palestine to work as a medical missionary. As the only doctor between Beirut and Jerusalem he had little or no equipment and if surgical instruments were required, he had to make them himself. In establishing the Nazareth Hospital, he overcame considerable difficulties including deeply rooted prejudice against Evangelical missionaries – the local people preferred old wives' tales, leeches and bone-menders to modern medicine. Vartan reported back to EMMS on a quarterly basis and the surviving documents, many reproduced in this publication, offer a valuable insight into the problems he faced.

Vartan of Nazareth features original source documents supported by eyewitness accounts, together with contemporary photographs, paintings, engravings, lithographs, maps, and other artifacts. In addition, the author’s considerable experience in the region has allowed him to provide detailed descriptions of nineteenth-century Nazareth. Malcolm Billings presents a well-researched scholarly narrative of one man's struggle against almost overwhelming odds.

Malcolm Billings in Conversation

Malcolm Billings is a well-respected journalist, having produced many programs for the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. He is the author of several publications including The Crusades: The War Against Islam 1096-1798 (2006), Queen’s College: 150 Years and a New Century (2000), and The English, the Making of a Nation from 430-1700 (1991).

I interviewed Malcolm Billings about his preparations for Vartan of Nazareth.

FS: When and how did you become interested in Vartan?

MB: His great grandson, John Vartan, wanted a book written about his great grandfather in time for the 150^th anniversary of the hospital.

FS: As you researched this amazing man was there any one thing that took you by surprise?

MB: I suppose it was his education in Constantinople in the 1840/50s. He went to the first missionary school set up by the Americans in Constantinople, and that is the key to Vartan's character. He had a remarkable teacher who didn't believe in just teaching boys to quote from the Bible. He also taught practical things like woodwork, metalwork, and building techniques. This teacher laid the background for a very successful career, and you can see the teaching coming through in all sorts of ways as Vartan established his mission and hospital.

FS: How will this fascinating journey influence your future work?

MB: I have a deeper appreciation of what is happening in the Middle East today and how Palestinian Christians are coping with a transition period which is full of political and practical problems. I am very interested in how the Israelis and the Arabs (Christian and other Arabs) are going to sort out the solution that the international community wants to see. It's one of the things that have made me very interested in modern politics and, of course, how what happened in the 19th Century influenced what is happening today.