Osfour's City - Part II

Click here to read the first part of my analysis of the clues regarding Osfour's city. Although at this point we could start guessing where S. has landed, I will continue parsing through the hints of Chapter 6 and summarize them in the end, hopefully, with a conclusion.

On page 229, we read the following:

"They leave the last of the date palms behind and tromp through a field of knee-high grass growing in sandy soil."

Date palms are native to many parts of the Arab world, including Libya.

Next there is an interesting passage with a specific clue (also identified by Eric in grey):

"Ahead is an entrance to the city: crumbling stone walls that centuries ago must have framed a gateway. Now though, anyone may pass."

The specification of crumbling stone walls that must have framed a gateway a few hundred years ago narrows down our search quite a bit.

The next hint is:

"Here and there, smoke rises, carrying the smell of roasted lamb and cumin."

Roasted lamb with cumin is a popular dish in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. It's Arabic name is Mechoui. Indeed, Jen asks Eric in the margins of page 230 if he's "been to the Moroccan restaurant out on 324?"

Page 232 describes a "night suq" or souk as it's commonly spelled. A souk is a traditional Arab street market and is present in most Arab cities.

One of the items for sale is the "oud" which is a pear shaped string musical instrument common in the Middle East and North Africa.

On page 233, there is an interesting clue:

"He watches a sale conclude: a short, pink, and shaved-bald man in western dress and eyeglasses hands money to the book vendor, hands him paper bills printed with purple and blue. (S. hopes to recognize the currency, but he doesn't.)

So the currency we're looking for would have a purple and blue bill(s). I have some candidates but will save them till I write the conclusion which would integrate all the clues we unearth.

On page 236 it appears that Osfour and S. pass next to a stall that is selling children:

"He blows into it, producing a single tone like a feline yowl, then diving between notes, never lingering on them, a wailing melody both mournful and sinister that has S.'s skin crawling even before he hears one of the baskets rustle, sees it shake ever so slightly though no one is touching it, and hears---could it be?---a childlike whimper coming from within. And is that the lid of the basket, starting to rise---?"

North Africa had been a very active region within the global slave trade. Many major slave trade routes crisscrossed the area. All of the major cities of North Africa housed dedicated slave markets.

The roasted nuts sold on a street cart on page 237 are a popular street food in North Africa.

Page 237 gives us the scene of S. hearing an aeroplane for the first time and mortars start bombarding the city. Eric's notes in the margin as interesting:

"Yrs. have passed since Ch. 4-5"

"Ref. to German invasion of North Africa?"

To be continued....

Osfour's City - Part I

While S. is being rowed ashore in Chapter 6 of the Ship of Theseus we get a description of the city he's going to:

"The city up ahead looks larger than either of the ones S. has visited thus far, sprawling out into the flatlands beyond, with minarets spiking the sky throughout. It is less brightly lit than S. would have imagined, considering the size. The city looks sleepy, tucked in on itself."

Clearly, the author is emphasizing that this is a large(r) city. The reference to minarets (hence mosques) indicates this is an Arabic / Muslim city. The city also has a lit harbor as is indicated on page 222.

As Osfour is waiting for S. to get dressed, he says:

" Vevoda has not needed the browncoats for years. Now he has a network of Agents who can blend in anyplace. You do not know when they are there, when they are not. Your neighbor, whose children play with your children, might be- "

While any battleground is filled with people of various allegiances, the capitalization of "Agents" as well as the insistence of Straka, according to footnote 8, gives me pause. I have done some preliminary digging but nothing has turned up so far.

A little later:

"I'm taking you to the resistance. They'll give you what you need."

Interesting to note that there is a resistance already in place.

Another item of interest is the specification that there are twelve Vevoda factories:

"His tightly guarded factories--twelve of them now, according to Osfour's sources--"

Then things get specific. Sort of.

"Of course," Osfour says. "The invasion of El-H---- is coming. Armies are crossing the desert as we speak."

Let's start with the obvious. "Armies are crossing the desert" means there is a desert to be crossed. This is another strong hint, in conjunction with the clothes being worn by our protagonist, that North Africa is where S. is in Chapter 6.

Now where exactly is El-H----? I'm going to leave that till later as there still might be clues further along in the chapter that help us find the answer.

To be continued...

Osfour's Clothing

Alright, now for my first contribution to the S. mystery! The word Osfour, in Arabic means bird. While not referring to a specific type, it is often used to describe little birds.

Osfour is also the name given to the character in Chapter 6 of SOT that guides S. through what seems to be an old middle eastern city. Osfour's appearance is described as follows:

"The stoop-shouldered man in the trees introduces himself as Osfour. Tobacco smoke wreathes his haggard face and the black checheya he wears low on his forehead. He wears a matching kaftan and trousers of loose-fitting grey linen, and flat, thin sandals on his feet."
SOT, Pages 222-223

Let's start with "black checheya" or chechia as it's sometimes spelled. The Chechia is the Tunisian and Libyan Arabic word used to describe a specific type of Fez, a traditional felt hat worn by inhabitants of the middle east. The Tunisian version is usually red and the Libyan version is usually black. Both do not have a tassel. So, the specification of a "black checheya" would indicate that Osfour and S. are at the very least somewhere in North Africa if not in Libya.


Next we need to understand what a kaftan is. As per Wikipedia:

"A kaftan or caftan ( قفطان qaftân) is a front-buttoned coat or overdress, usually reaching to the ankles, with long sleeves. It can be made of wool,cashmere, silk, or cotton, and may be worn with a sash. The caftan is of ancient Mesopotamian origin."

The kaftan comes in various colors with grey being a .winter color. The kaftan is also a traditional garment worn by both men and women in North Africa. Here is a picture of a man wearing a chechia and kaftan with trousers astride a horse as part of a Libyan festival. (Original Link)

I chose an image of a Libyan kaftan because we started with the very specific Libyan black chechia. I hope this leads somewhere!

Right after Osfour gives S. the clothes, he " pauses, waits for S. to start buttoning up". While chapter six could be describing the traditional clothes of most of North Africa, this appears to be confirmation that the type of kaftan is a buttoned down one and that we're on the right track.