Al-Qatai' .. Ibn Tulun Trilogy

A historical novel set in the era of the ruler Ahmed ibn Tulun. It is a trilogy like "Awlad Al-Nas" and includes three stories: the first story: Maysoun; the second story: Ahmed's Dream; the third story: The Covenant. The novel revolves around Al-Qata'i, a city that holds the magic of the ancients and their curse. There is no escape from loving it. In its alleys, the smell of baking and sweets reminds us of the virtues of life and the taste of love. No one here is satisfied with bread and sugar alone; from hand to hand and mouth to mouth, wheat melts deep within and then revives the vague memory. In this city, a tailor weaves a garment from pure silk, and no one knows the fate of its owner. Perhaps it was for a bride who longs and wishes, or for the tax collector walking the land, assassinated happily. Maybe it was made from threads mixed with calamity and suffering, or patience and endurance. Here lies incomplete joy and a helpless body, even if pride takes him to sin. In this city, a blacksmith makes swords and thinks about who will die by them. He wishes to eliminate every oppressor and every greedy person, knowing that it will cut off innocent heads and some of the heads of the lost on roads full of darkness, and many heads of warriors for the memory that always slips from our hands. This shop copies books about a past that has gone and another that is coming; it tries to gather memory in its folds and remembers the wisdom of the ancients, but it is defeated by fire and destruction. When the city's trace is erased and power triumphs over memory, writing becomes necessary. Preserving some victory on paper. Here, an elder died without shifting from the truth. Here, a man became a victim of his dream. Here, weakness appeared to all forces, and weakness spread to every oppressor. Here, man discovered that he loses a part of himself every day, and that the end is inevitable, accompanied by some despair and much nostalgia.