Voyage of the Cranes in the Cities of Agate
Omaima Abdullah Al-Khamis
Voyage of the Cranes in the Cities of Agate is set in the fourth century in the Hijri calendar (11th century AD), a time when there is both flourishing intellectual movement and clerical opposition centered on the “House of Wisdom” in Baghdad. From the Arabian Peninsula, Mazid al-Hanafi comes to the Abbasid capital, burdened with existential questions, and becomes a member of the “Gharaniq” secret society. From there, he visits Jerusalem, Cairo and Andalusia, seeking to implement the seven commandments he has learned during his travels. The novel reflects the strong cultural and religious diversity in the Islamic world of 402-5 (1011-14 AD) before this was suppressed.
Publisher
Dar Al Saqi
Nomination
2019 Longlist
Omaima Abdullah Al-Khamis
Country of origin Saudi Arabia
About the author
Omaima Abdullah Al-Khamis is a Saudi Arabian writer, born in 1966. She graduated with a BA in Arabic Literature and worked as a teacher and director of the Department of Educational Media in the Ministry of Education, before becoming a full-time writer in 2010. Since 1993, she has published four short story collections. Her first novel Al-Bahriyat appeared in 2006. It was reprinted seven times and a special edition was printed in Egypt. Her second novel, The Leafy Tree (2008), reached the 2010 IPAF longlist. Saja’s Visit was published in 2013.