Part 28: The purifying light
August, 1893
Cairo, Egypt
Part 1
Tahira had little time to ponder on the turn her life had taken since she accepted that offer near her former workplace. First it was a single machine that needed to be rebuilt, then ten, then a hundred. She asked her friends for help, then she hired them. Then she began building her own solar boilers, using a true parabolic profile instead of the circular one used by scammers.
And now, she was reading a balance sheet, on a small warehouse near the river she rented to Ibrahim, with enough space to install a workshop. It didn't paint a bad picture, but nor did it paint a good one. Sales have reached a plateau, and nothing seemed to indicate that it'd increase in the future. Maybe it was because imported devices were becoming more common or cheaper, or maybe the lack of access to credit didn’t trapped her in a business that just paid for itself and gave her a decent living.
Was this the life she wanted to live when she was a girl, growing up with distant relatives? No, she dreamed of marrying a good man, and having good children. Then she met the man who would be his husband, a withered, lecherous ogre and that dream ended. Since then, she’d been too awake to dream or care about men, whose appeal she never truly understood. Leaving that home behind, she’d lived day to day, not caring for the future.
Not until she encountered these solar boilers, and awakening something inside that she couldn’t quite describe, an understanding of the way the light and the mirrors and the pipes and the steam all worked together. An understanding that drove her to learn more about them, and then the world around her.
- Lady Tahira, the shipment of mirrors has arrived. - her adjutant said, snapping her out of the trance.
-About three days late. We’ll have to order earlier if we want to restock the reserves. - Tahira said, more to herself than to the girl that helped her.
- I’ll see to that, order the usual amount. There’s also another thing. A soldier came a few minutes ago to announce the visit of a government representative at noon.
- A government representative? Did he mean the tax collector? And why would the collector come now, he was here a week ago.
- I don’t know who this representative is, but it isn’t the taxman. The soldier said something about official government business.
- Great. Prepare the receipts… and the bribe money. Let’s hope this is quick and we can get back to work.
Later that day
Tahira was inspecting the workshop when someone knocked on the workshop’s entrance. A strong, authoritative knock which could only come from a soldier. The door was opened and in came a two soldiers carrying bolt-action rifles, and behind them a three civilians. Two of them appeared to be too young to amount to much, but the third was a man who exuded authority, wearing an odd blend of traditional and modern clothes, and a grey beard that was in the middle point between western-inspired clean shave and pious scruffiness.
The man looked in confusion, his eyes jumping from one figure to another. Looking for the man who was obviously in charge. Tahira waited for him to come to the realization by himself before speaking.
- Excuse me, lady, but I’m looking for Ibrahim Sawiris, the owner of this business. - He said, not even bothering to greet her.
- He’s not the owner of this business. I am. - She said.
- But… the registries say that it belonged to Mr. Sawiris.
- It does, on paper. He technically owns the company and has a stake on it, but I’m the one who started this workshop and I’m the one in charge. - Tahira said. Ibrahim recognized the potential of Tahira and helped her in those first difficult months. He sometimes gave advice and helped her with clients that doubted a woman could lead a business.
- But you are a… - He began to say, quickly stopping before becoming insulting. - I am sorry, I was acting on bad knowledge and I assumed this business belonged to Mr. Sawiris. What is your name, Lady?
- Tahira. Simply Tahira.
- Good afternoon, Lady Tahira. - The man said, backtracking on the initial confusion. - I am Doctor Haisam Shalhoub, special envoy of Khedive Abbas II. Am I to understand that you manage this business?
- Indeed I am. I started making a few working examples out of the fake ones from Turkey, and one thing led to another. Now I’m making these, for domestic uses.
- Could we go somewhere to discuss a few points about your devices? And please, bring your technical advisor.
- We do things by pulse, so to speak. As long as the parabolic profile is kept, it’s fine.
- You’re telling me that there is none? How do they kno- Again, he arrived to the conclusion after his mouth started to speak – So, you’re qualified to discuss the operational parameters of these machines?
- I am. - Tahira repeated. I designed, although arranging mirrors in a parabolic through is hardly what I’d call “design”. - She said, while guiding him and his entourage to what passed for an office on the workshop. Thankfully, she had a chair to spare.
- We’ve seen these devices among vendors on the streets and in some homes. - Dr. Shalhoub asked. - How well do they work? Can they boil water?
- Yes, that’s one of the uses. The smaller models can’t boil water, but other can produce about a liter per minute, which is enough for most of our customers.
- That’s what we’re looking for. And when you say boiling, do you mean boiling?
Tahira looked in Dr. Shalhoub’s eyes. The man was being insulting in the way only someone trying to not to be could be.
- Yes, I do mean that they reach the point at which water reaches the boiling point and starts turning into steam. Without increasing in temperature. - Dr. Shalhoub’s eyes expressed surprise. - and the point at which microbes die, too.
- You know what Germ Theory is?
- I’ve had to learn a lot of things since I started this business. - Tahira said. - And one thing lead to another.
- That’s… very good, actually. Not many people care enough to learn about it. So, you must have deduced that I’m here to ask for the sanitary applications of your devices. And you’ve already answered that they can be used for it. - Dr. Shalhoub’s tone had shifted from one of condescending curiosity to one of dawning admiration. - This was all I wanted to know, for now.
- Is there anything else in which I can help you?
- Not now. However, you will be summoned to Alexandria for an audience with a Government committee dealing with the current cholera crisis in two weeks. Your travel expenses will be paid by the government, but I suggest that you present your best possible image… while remaining modest, of course.
Part 2
Alexandria, Egypt
Ras El Tin Palace
Tahira felt an immense weight on her shoulders as she presented the documents mailed to her by Dr. Shalhoub to the palace guard. The guard acted in a mechanical fashion, something she’d never seen before, and it terrified her.
- Your papers are in order, Lady Tahira. An escort will guide you to the meeting. - The guard say, with a voice that didn’t sound quite human. - I’ll have to pat you first. - And again, not a sign of humanity on the man. It felt uncomfortable, but not in the way she expected from a man. - You’re clear. Please wait for the escort to arrive.
Tahira could’ve sworn that the guard said the escort would arrive shortly, but it took close to half an hour, and even in the shade, the heat was difficult to bear. When they finally got to her, the contrast with the mechanical guard was shocking. A middle aged man, a bureaucrat or lawyer or other well educated type greeted her with a smile, and welcomed her to the interior of the Palace.
Immediately, a wall of cool air began to filter through her jellabiya, feeling like a cold wave on her skin. She shuddered.
- Ah, that’s the climate control we’ve acquired for the Royal Palaces. Quite impressive, aren’t them?
- Climate control? How can it get this cold?
- I don’t know how they work, something about gasses expanding. These were built in Chile, if you can believe that.
- Chile? Where is that?
- A country in South America. You may have heard about it, ten years ago they won a war against its’ neighbours.
- I think it’s the first time I’ve heard of it. Good for them if that’s the case. - She limited her commentary. Ten years ago, she was struggling for survival in the streets of Cairo.
- We’ve had them for a few months, but most of us can’t even remember how we got things done before. It makes summers bearable. The Khedive has decreed the installation of such devices in any building where more than two thousand people gather.
The government man kept talking as he guided her upstairs, down a hallway and into a room, where many men discussed a subject. He didn’t recognize any of them, except Haisam. Instinctively, she flocked to his side. Once they recognized her, the room went silent.
- Gentlemen, this is the representative of Ibrahim Sawiris. I know some of you are skeptical due to her gender, but I can vouch to her knowledge on the subject and I wouldn’t have invited her otherwise.
- This is your expert? An unmarried woman? - One of them said.
- This is my expert. Someone who was capable of replicating the devices imported and make them cheap enough for even the poorest vendor to acquire one.
- It doesn’t matter! It is still scandalous that you brought her here, unaccompanied. - A voice said, but Tahira couldn’t identify to whom it belonged.
- And does this woman has any knowledge on the subject at hand? Why would you bring someone who knows nothing about medicine or disease? - Said another. This one hurt.
Another voice, and then two more, then an avalanche of criticism which left Tahira numb. Whatever she expected, it wasn’t this.
- Enough! - Said one of the voices, and the torrent of words stopped. - May I remind you what is at stake? Why are you dismissing not only this woman, but the judgement of Doctor Shalhoub? If he vouched for her, then that’s enough reason to at least listen to what she has to say. - The voice added.
- But it is scandalous! - A voice challenged.
- Guards, please escort this gentleman outside the palace. - The man with the authoritative voice said, someone who Tahira vaguely recognized. The guards obeyed and dragged the man, kicking and screaming, outside. - Now, Doctor Shalhoub recommended you as an expert in solar energy. Is that so?
- I don’t know. I have years of experience with parabolic through solar boilers, operating and repairing them. I’ve been making them myself for a year or so. - Tahira answered, zeroing in on the identity of the man who was addressing her.
- Which leaves you more experienced and informed than anyone else in this room. Some of us have seen your work in the streets of Cairo… Tell me, can these be used for boiling large quantities of water?
- That’s their primary use. They’re not built to the standards of imported models, so they can’t create high temperature steam, but they can heat water to its boiling point. Around a liter per minute, although we once built a model that could do ten liters per minute as long as long as it was optimally oriented.
- Is it possible to build a machine capable of boiling a thousand liters per hour?
- That’d require some experimentation, but the performance is proportional to the mirror area. I’d just have to build them bigger than what we’re used to.
- How big are we talking about?
- I estimate around 20 square meters. - Tahira recognized him from a photo, or a portrait.
- For how many hours a day?
- If there are no shadows around them, they’re at full capacity an hour after the sun has risen. - Riyad Pasha. That was the man. The Prime Minister himself. She felt her head become impossibly light, and then blackness engulfed her.
Part 3:
Cairo, Egypt
September
She knew she’d never forget the embarrassment she felt by fainting in front of the Primer Minister, but all in all, things went as well as they could given that. She held a new grudge against Dr. Shalhoub for not telling her that one of the second most powerful man in Egypt would be there, but from that meeting also came an order for an experimental water boiler. “Capable of producing a cubic meter of sterilized water, as cheap and easy to maintain as possible” were the only directions, with enough funding to make the necessary prototypes. The only inconvenience was the oversight of the inconvenient Doctor.
The man still apologized for not sharing that bit of information, but to Tahira it didn’t sound sincere enough. She doubted it’d ever will.
- I don’t need you apologies. I need to see how to make this boiler big enough. To meet the demand.
- Have you considered enlarging the mirror area?
- Yes, and that’d be easier if we had the know-how and infrastructure of the Cottrell Company. We’re running a workshop near The Nile, working with wooden frames. Links. - She said, not noting the change in her tone or the message.
- Come again?
- We don’t need to make it bigger. We just need to link enough boilers to increase output.
- That… might work. You’d just need to build more, and then connect them. It’d be more effort to keep it oriented. But that’s just once a day.
- Very well. Go for it. Can you have a working model in a week?
- Yes, I’ll send you the expenses.
And with that, Dr. Shalhoub left and Tahira began to work.
A month later came the results in the targeted neighbourhood, in the form of a letter from Dr. Shalhoub. The water sanitizer had reduced the cases of Cholera by 93% in the targeted village. With that, came an a request for a thousand copies.
“The irruption of solar energy had political implications, just as steam and electricity did. Among the most obvious was the competitive advantage it provided to sunny and desert zones. Demand in these areas was, naturally, high and that resulted in high prices for the majority of poor countries in the region.
Part of the high prices was the result of what economists would call the expected result of the market conditions of the time, but that only explained part of the picture. The other was the virtual monopoly the British Empire had over solar-powered devices (the other early adopter and key developer of the technology, Chile, was still building its industrial infrastructure and thus its global export market would remain small until the end of the century), which allowed them to influence these countries.
In this context, solar energy would become both a promise of development and a symbol of the thwarted potential for the nascent Pan-Arabic and Pan-Muslim movements. Islamic scholars like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was an enthusiastic advocate for its development in the Muslim world. The sentiment was shared by secular politicians and nationalist thinkers.
Perhaps it is cynical to accuse Abbas II of Egypt of using this source of energy as a way to agitate the population against the British occupiers, as all evidence points to the benefits of his multiple programs being genuine – Cholera outbreaks became much rarer in 1894, for example – and noticeable. However, it can’t be denied that his promotion of locally produced knockoffs of the Solar Boiler patented by the Cottrell Company would force the British Empire into a dilemma: either accept Egypt’s flagrant violation of their intellectual property laws, or be seen as oppressors taking away the signs of progress.
Meanwhile, most parts appeared to either be uninterested or oblivious to the quirk of the primitive solar industry in the Levant: it was heavily associated to femininity.”
Cairo, Egypt
Part 1
Tahira had little time to ponder on the turn her life had taken since she accepted that offer near her former workplace. First it was a single machine that needed to be rebuilt, then ten, then a hundred. She asked her friends for help, then she hired them. Then she began building her own solar boilers, using a true parabolic profile instead of the circular one used by scammers.
And now, she was reading a balance sheet, on a small warehouse near the river she rented to Ibrahim, with enough space to install a workshop. It didn't paint a bad picture, but nor did it paint a good one. Sales have reached a plateau, and nothing seemed to indicate that it'd increase in the future. Maybe it was because imported devices were becoming more common or cheaper, or maybe the lack of access to credit didn’t trapped her in a business that just paid for itself and gave her a decent living.
Was this the life she wanted to live when she was a girl, growing up with distant relatives? No, she dreamed of marrying a good man, and having good children. Then she met the man who would be his husband, a withered, lecherous ogre and that dream ended. Since then, she’d been too awake to dream or care about men, whose appeal she never truly understood. Leaving that home behind, she’d lived day to day, not caring for the future.
Not until she encountered these solar boilers, and awakening something inside that she couldn’t quite describe, an understanding of the way the light and the mirrors and the pipes and the steam all worked together. An understanding that drove her to learn more about them, and then the world around her.
- Lady Tahira, the shipment of mirrors has arrived. - her adjutant said, snapping her out of the trance.
-About three days late. We’ll have to order earlier if we want to restock the reserves. - Tahira said, more to herself than to the girl that helped her.
- I’ll see to that, order the usual amount. There’s also another thing. A soldier came a few minutes ago to announce the visit of a government representative at noon.
- A government representative? Did he mean the tax collector? And why would the collector come now, he was here a week ago.
- I don’t know who this representative is, but it isn’t the taxman. The soldier said something about official government business.
- Great. Prepare the receipts… and the bribe money. Let’s hope this is quick and we can get back to work.
Later that day
Tahira was inspecting the workshop when someone knocked on the workshop’s entrance. A strong, authoritative knock which could only come from a soldier. The door was opened and in came a two soldiers carrying bolt-action rifles, and behind them a three civilians. Two of them appeared to be too young to amount to much, but the third was a man who exuded authority, wearing an odd blend of traditional and modern clothes, and a grey beard that was in the middle point between western-inspired clean shave and pious scruffiness.
The man looked in confusion, his eyes jumping from one figure to another. Looking for the man who was obviously in charge. Tahira waited for him to come to the realization by himself before speaking.
- Excuse me, lady, but I’m looking for Ibrahim Sawiris, the owner of this business. - He said, not even bothering to greet her.
- He’s not the owner of this business. I am. - She said.
- But… the registries say that it belonged to Mr. Sawiris.
- It does, on paper. He technically owns the company and has a stake on it, but I’m the one who started this workshop and I’m the one in charge. - Tahira said. Ibrahim recognized the potential of Tahira and helped her in those first difficult months. He sometimes gave advice and helped her with clients that doubted a woman could lead a business.
- But you are a… - He began to say, quickly stopping before becoming insulting. - I am sorry, I was acting on bad knowledge and I assumed this business belonged to Mr. Sawiris. What is your name, Lady?
- Tahira. Simply Tahira.
- Good afternoon, Lady Tahira. - The man said, backtracking on the initial confusion. - I am Doctor Haisam Shalhoub, special envoy of Khedive Abbas II. Am I to understand that you manage this business?
- Indeed I am. I started making a few working examples out of the fake ones from Turkey, and one thing led to another. Now I’m making these, for domestic uses.
- Could we go somewhere to discuss a few points about your devices? And please, bring your technical advisor.
- We do things by pulse, so to speak. As long as the parabolic profile is kept, it’s fine.
- You’re telling me that there is none? How do they kno- Again, he arrived to the conclusion after his mouth started to speak – So, you’re qualified to discuss the operational parameters of these machines?
- I am. - Tahira repeated. I designed, although arranging mirrors in a parabolic through is hardly what I’d call “design”. - She said, while guiding him and his entourage to what passed for an office on the workshop. Thankfully, she had a chair to spare.
- We’ve seen these devices among vendors on the streets and in some homes. - Dr. Shalhoub asked. - How well do they work? Can they boil water?
- Yes, that’s one of the uses. The smaller models can’t boil water, but other can produce about a liter per minute, which is enough for most of our customers.
- That’s what we’re looking for. And when you say boiling, do you mean boiling?
Tahira looked in Dr. Shalhoub’s eyes. The man was being insulting in the way only someone trying to not to be could be.
- Yes, I do mean that they reach the point at which water reaches the boiling point and starts turning into steam. Without increasing in temperature. - Dr. Shalhoub’s eyes expressed surprise. - and the point at which microbes die, too.
- You know what Germ Theory is?
- I’ve had to learn a lot of things since I started this business. - Tahira said. - And one thing lead to another.
- That’s… very good, actually. Not many people care enough to learn about it. So, you must have deduced that I’m here to ask for the sanitary applications of your devices. And you’ve already answered that they can be used for it. - Dr. Shalhoub’s tone had shifted from one of condescending curiosity to one of dawning admiration. - This was all I wanted to know, for now.
- Is there anything else in which I can help you?
- Not now. However, you will be summoned to Alexandria for an audience with a Government committee dealing with the current cholera crisis in two weeks. Your travel expenses will be paid by the government, but I suggest that you present your best possible image… while remaining modest, of course.
Part 2
Alexandria, Egypt
Ras El Tin Palace
Tahira felt an immense weight on her shoulders as she presented the documents mailed to her by Dr. Shalhoub to the palace guard. The guard acted in a mechanical fashion, something she’d never seen before, and it terrified her.
- Your papers are in order, Lady Tahira. An escort will guide you to the meeting. - The guard say, with a voice that didn’t sound quite human. - I’ll have to pat you first. - And again, not a sign of humanity on the man. It felt uncomfortable, but not in the way she expected from a man. - You’re clear. Please wait for the escort to arrive.
Tahira could’ve sworn that the guard said the escort would arrive shortly, but it took close to half an hour, and even in the shade, the heat was difficult to bear. When they finally got to her, the contrast with the mechanical guard was shocking. A middle aged man, a bureaucrat or lawyer or other well educated type greeted her with a smile, and welcomed her to the interior of the Palace.
Immediately, a wall of cool air began to filter through her jellabiya, feeling like a cold wave on her skin. She shuddered.
- Ah, that’s the climate control we’ve acquired for the Royal Palaces. Quite impressive, aren’t them?
- Climate control? How can it get this cold?
- I don’t know how they work, something about gasses expanding. These were built in Chile, if you can believe that.
- Chile? Where is that?
- A country in South America. You may have heard about it, ten years ago they won a war against its’ neighbours.
- I think it’s the first time I’ve heard of it. Good for them if that’s the case. - She limited her commentary. Ten years ago, she was struggling for survival in the streets of Cairo.
- We’ve had them for a few months, but most of us can’t even remember how we got things done before. It makes summers bearable. The Khedive has decreed the installation of such devices in any building where more than two thousand people gather.
The government man kept talking as he guided her upstairs, down a hallway and into a room, where many men discussed a subject. He didn’t recognize any of them, except Haisam. Instinctively, she flocked to his side. Once they recognized her, the room went silent.
- Gentlemen, this is the representative of Ibrahim Sawiris. I know some of you are skeptical due to her gender, but I can vouch to her knowledge on the subject and I wouldn’t have invited her otherwise.
- This is your expert? An unmarried woman? - One of them said.
- This is my expert. Someone who was capable of replicating the devices imported and make them cheap enough for even the poorest vendor to acquire one.
- It doesn’t matter! It is still scandalous that you brought her here, unaccompanied. - A voice said, but Tahira couldn’t identify to whom it belonged.
- And does this woman has any knowledge on the subject at hand? Why would you bring someone who knows nothing about medicine or disease? - Said another. This one hurt.
Another voice, and then two more, then an avalanche of criticism which left Tahira numb. Whatever she expected, it wasn’t this.
- Enough! - Said one of the voices, and the torrent of words stopped. - May I remind you what is at stake? Why are you dismissing not only this woman, but the judgement of Doctor Shalhoub? If he vouched for her, then that’s enough reason to at least listen to what she has to say. - The voice added.
- But it is scandalous! - A voice challenged.
- Guards, please escort this gentleman outside the palace. - The man with the authoritative voice said, someone who Tahira vaguely recognized. The guards obeyed and dragged the man, kicking and screaming, outside. - Now, Doctor Shalhoub recommended you as an expert in solar energy. Is that so?
- I don’t know. I have years of experience with parabolic through solar boilers, operating and repairing them. I’ve been making them myself for a year or so. - Tahira answered, zeroing in on the identity of the man who was addressing her.
- Which leaves you more experienced and informed than anyone else in this room. Some of us have seen your work in the streets of Cairo… Tell me, can these be used for boiling large quantities of water?
- That’s their primary use. They’re not built to the standards of imported models, so they can’t create high temperature steam, but they can heat water to its boiling point. Around a liter per minute, although we once built a model that could do ten liters per minute as long as long as it was optimally oriented.
- Is it possible to build a machine capable of boiling a thousand liters per hour?
- That’d require some experimentation, but the performance is proportional to the mirror area. I’d just have to build them bigger than what we’re used to.
- How big are we talking about?
- I estimate around 20 square meters. - Tahira recognized him from a photo, or a portrait.
- For how many hours a day?
- If there are no shadows around them, they’re at full capacity an hour after the sun has risen. - Riyad Pasha. That was the man. The Prime Minister himself. She felt her head become impossibly light, and then blackness engulfed her.
Part 3:
Cairo, Egypt
September
She knew she’d never forget the embarrassment she felt by fainting in front of the Primer Minister, but all in all, things went as well as they could given that. She held a new grudge against Dr. Shalhoub for not telling her that one of the second most powerful man in Egypt would be there, but from that meeting also came an order for an experimental water boiler. “Capable of producing a cubic meter of sterilized water, as cheap and easy to maintain as possible” were the only directions, with enough funding to make the necessary prototypes. The only inconvenience was the oversight of the inconvenient Doctor.
The man still apologized for not sharing that bit of information, but to Tahira it didn’t sound sincere enough. She doubted it’d ever will.
- I don’t need you apologies. I need to see how to make this boiler big enough. To meet the demand.
- Have you considered enlarging the mirror area?
- Yes, and that’d be easier if we had the know-how and infrastructure of the Cottrell Company. We’re running a workshop near The Nile, working with wooden frames. Links. - She said, not noting the change in her tone or the message.
- Come again?
- We don’t need to make it bigger. We just need to link enough boilers to increase output.
- That… might work. You’d just need to build more, and then connect them. It’d be more effort to keep it oriented. But that’s just once a day.
- Very well. Go for it. Can you have a working model in a week?
- Yes, I’ll send you the expenses.
And with that, Dr. Shalhoub left and Tahira began to work.
A month later came the results in the targeted neighbourhood, in the form of a letter from Dr. Shalhoub. The water sanitizer had reduced the cases of Cholera by 93% in the targeted village. With that, came an a request for a thousand copies.
“The irruption of solar energy had political implications, just as steam and electricity did. Among the most obvious was the competitive advantage it provided to sunny and desert zones. Demand in these areas was, naturally, high and that resulted in high prices for the majority of poor countries in the region.
Part of the high prices was the result of what economists would call the expected result of the market conditions of the time, but that only explained part of the picture. The other was the virtual monopoly the British Empire had over solar-powered devices (the other early adopter and key developer of the technology, Chile, was still building its industrial infrastructure and thus its global export market would remain small until the end of the century), which allowed them to influence these countries.
In this context, solar energy would become both a promise of development and a symbol of the thwarted potential for the nascent Pan-Arabic and Pan-Muslim movements. Islamic scholars like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani was an enthusiastic advocate for its development in the Muslim world. The sentiment was shared by secular politicians and nationalist thinkers.
Perhaps it is cynical to accuse Abbas II of Egypt of using this source of energy as a way to agitate the population against the British occupiers, as all evidence points to the benefits of his multiple programs being genuine – Cholera outbreaks became much rarer in 1894, for example – and noticeable. However, it can’t be denied that his promotion of locally produced knockoffs of the Solar Boiler patented by the Cottrell Company would force the British Empire into a dilemma: either accept Egypt’s flagrant violation of their intellectual property laws, or be seen as oppressors taking away the signs of progress.
Meanwhile, most parts appeared to either be uninterested or oblivious to the quirk of the primitive solar industry in the Levant: it was heavily associated to femininity.”
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