As a child, I grew up with one thousand and one nights (elf layla wa layla). for as long as i remember, i was read a story from it or read it myself when i was able to. Later on at school we had an epic poem called 'ir-rubayad ta Omar Khajjam' in maltese, which was really enjoyable. It was a translation from an epic poem in Arabic.
To enter university, i had to do an exam which had one thousand and one nights as a required text. I passed with flying colours, because this book was one i grew up with, and i knew inside out. I loved the dervishes, the clever women in the stories, the magic, the always decietful visier and the fact that good always came out triumphant. Of course the story of 'the fart' didn't have any winners :hyper:
Till today, the volume is on my bed side table, and i have a poke at it every now and then. My most favourites were the Histories of Codadad and Aladin and His wonderful lamp (the original story is maginificent).
Later on, i delved into the popular stories of Guha.

Have you got any popular traditional stories to share, any favourites? and please suggest links, because i haven't got much to read at the moment. :)

i have many traditional stories which my grandma RIP used to tell us. i don't know if they exist in the internet. most of them are from the Omani traditions like flaiqa and the princess and the serpent.. but you can google for them and you may find some.. i'll try to look up for some as well.

i have many traditional stories which my grandma RIP used to tell us. i don't know if they exist in the internet. most of them are from the Omani traditions like flaiqa and the princess and the serpent.. but you can google for them and you may find some.. i'll try to look up for some as well.
thanks your majesty! i love arabian literature, give me some good links!

try this site
http://www.arabworldbooks.com/Literature/literature.html

it's abit difficult to find some sites having translated traditional arabic stories into english

If I am not mistaken, Omar Al Khayam was Indian (or farsi?) but his books were widly known as translated into arabic.

Personally, arabic stories I enjoyed were Juha .. he is a funny yet wise charchter!

Another one, is Judge Iyas. He was a very fair judge and I personaly loved the story when two mothers were fighting over a baby, each claiming it was hers. He didnt know who is laying and who is saying the truth. He then suggested that he cut the baby into 2 halves .. one of the ladies automaticly screamed saying she doesnt want the baby any more .. so he knew that she was the real mother.

If I am not mistaken, Omar Al Khayam was Indian (or farsi?) but his books were widly known as translated into arabic.

Personally, arabic stories I enjoyed were Juha .. he is a funny yet wise charchter!

Another one, is Judge Iyas. He was a very fair judge and I personaly loved the story when two mothers were fighting over a baby, each claiming it was hers. He didnt know who is laying and who is saying the truth. He then suggested that he cut the baby into 2 halves .. one of the ladies automaticly screamed saying she doesnt want the baby any more .. so he knew that she was the real mother.


That's very interesting.. if I am not mistaken, this story is mentioned in the bible, in the time of Solomon.

Ah.. a quick google search...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgement_of_Solomon

I loved juha too..i use to learn all his stories so i could tell it to my friends

But our arabic teacher often tells us aboyt Qies and Laila i liked there story too

And now El Rey is telling me bout the princess and the snack :D

I read in Marianna's blog about the story of Layla.. and her lover.. etc..

And that Eric Clapton's song 'Layla' was inspired from this tale..

Can someone explain that story in more depth?

Thalia - "The legend of the poet Qais Ibn Mulouweh (who came to be called Majnoon Layla (Madman)) and his love for Layla Al Amouriyya is over a thousand years old. Both from Bedouin tribes, Qais falls in love with Layla and speaks freely about his love for her. This is strictly forbidden and therefore Layla is dishonored. Her father refuses the marriage. Exhibiting his love in form of poetry, Qais creates beautiful verses about Layla, reciting them everywhere causing further alarm and eventually war. The poet’s pure love turns to what the people call ‘madness.’ This story is the most popular love story in the Arab and Persian World and has been passed down through Arab culture by means of story-telling and poetry recitation.

Source: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1240207
http://www.hnn.us/roundup/entries/3387.html

That's very interesting.. if I am not mistaken, this story is mentioned in the bible, in the time of Solomon.


Aha, we just caught judge Iyas plagirising the bible...

Actually I also heard that story, it was about King Solomon, I believe it is in the bible but not Quran

minerva - Have you read anything by Naguib Mahfouz? The Egyptian novelist, Naguib Mahfouz, wrote more than 30 novels, and in 1988 became the first Arab to win the Nobel prize for literature.

read more about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouz or http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1988/mahfouz-bio.html

Edward Said' article on Naguib Mahfouz http://www.counterpunch.org/mahfouz.html

I used to read many books when I was a child, the most interesting one was "Kalila Wa Dimna"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalilag_and_Damnag

For now, I'm more to Dr. Ghazi Al-Qusaibi's books. I read some books for Ahlam Mustaghanmi and many others...

wow thanks you all!!! i'm gonna look for these books for sure!

Naguib Mahfooz is possibly the Arabic equivalent of Dickens...
He is a lover of the commoners, the workers, the middle-class and he writes about them so eloquently you forget you're reading a novel.

If you want to read for him start with Miramar and then maybe go straight to his most controversial work, Children of Gebelawi. The latter is just...addictive. An epic novel so brilliantly put, I don't think I read any fiction better.

The Ruabayat are actually lovely too...The Egyptian singer Om Kalthoum had famously sang from them in Arabic.

That's very interesting.. if I am not mistaken, this story is mentioned in the bible, in the time of Solomon.

it could be .. I remmber hearing the story when I was 10 .. but it something that I always remmber

Speaking of Arabic Literature, where can I translate a whole poem? :p

Speaking of Arabic Literature, where can I translate a whole poem? :p


Let me know if you found one, providing it has the same beauty hidden in the literature.


minerva.. I will try to find some good file hosting website and will put some good stuff you will love them, I will try not to forget this. Or if your in Oman you can pay me a visit and will show you my library *you need a membership card though, hehe jocking :p*

Let me know if you found one, providing it has the same beauty hidden in the literature.


minerva.. I will try to find some good file hosting website and will put some good stuff you will love them, I will try not to forget this. Or if your in Oman you can pay me a visit and will show you my library *you need a membership card though, hehe jocking :p*
thanks girl...you are a teacher too aren't you? you are welcome to my library if you ever come to tiny Malta :D

Minivan:

Naguib Mahfouz is a Nobel Prize winner for literature and has been called "The Arab Tolstoy" because of his great dynastic epics (he pisses on Dickens). His Nobel Prize-winning work was called "The Cairo Trilogy"....three books I'm trying to remember now...one was called "Sugar Street", another "The Palace of Desire"...I think they were the last two...anyway look it up and make sure you read them in the right order!

It is a truly wonderful story charting the fates of several different characters and families as they intertwine over years. His writing is so colorful and descriptive, and the way he builds every detail of the character is just exceptional. It really is like reading Tolstoy in that respect, but has a lot more gentle humour and pathos.

A book he wrote later is one of my all-time favourites, called "The Harafish". In the one book, five generations of a family come and go in a poor area of Cairo and the writing is simply breathtaking. English translations of all Naguib Mahfouz's books are widely available, and have been best-sellers in English.

My other favourite Arab author is a Lebanes one called Amin Maalouf. I think he writes in French, but again English translations are easily available. Read "Leo the African" and "Samarkand" - fantastic pieces of historical fiction that really educate as well as entertain...again beautiful writing and characterisation, they really take you away to another world.

^mimo, I think the first was 'Bein al Asrain'...Kinda hard to translate, something like, 'Between The Two Palaces'...He hated Dickens? lol, I didn't know that :os

I love Nizar Qabbani - but then he is not a traditionalist :p .

I'd say go for Kalila wa Dimna. It is not originally Arabic, but it is probably the most famous traditional oriental tale after One Thousand and One Nights.
If you are strictly looking for traditional Arabic literature, then I guess poetry was big (and superb) back then, unless you don't mind more modern forms of literature. I'm not an avid reader of Arabic literature (I wish I were :() but two novelists I like are Anis Mansour (http://www.arabicbooks.net/page-13-Mansour.html) and Naguib Mahfouz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguib_Mahfouz). The Yacoubian Building (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Yacoubian_Building) might also be worth checking out.

There is actually quite a bit of very good and readable Saudi literature.

My favorite is probably the trilogy of Abdul-Rahman Munif, Cities of Salt.
It's easily available in English and a gripping read.

http://www.amazon.com/Cities-Salt-Abdelrahman-Munif/dp/039475526X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201667386&sr=1-1

That's just the first volume, but the other two--Trench and Variations on Night and Day are available separately.

If you want racy and rebellious stuff, you could go for The Girls of Riyadh, which made a big stink a while back. Actually, I think it's more a political statement than worthwhile literature...

But there are lots of other things, too.

Naguib Mahfooz is possibly the Arabic equivalent of Dickens...
He is a lover of the commoners, the workers, the middle-class and he writes about them so eloquently you forget you're reading a novel.


We're currently his work as well as otheres like Ta'h Hussain, and Mikhyaeil Naima (sp?:think:)
They wrote really good novels and they're very descriptive and detailed when it comes to using imagery and expressing emotions of characters. Personally, I think they do this better than alot of english writers.