ليالي الصحراء | Sahara Desert Nights
"A Berber guide discovers passion under the stars with a tourist seeking escape in the Moroccan Sahara."
ليالي الصحراء
Sahara Desert Nights
الفصل الأول | Chapter One
أَنَا دَلِيلٌ فِي صَحْرَاءِ مَرْزُوكَةَ.
I am a guide in the Merzouga desert.
أَعْرِفُ كُلَّ كَثِيبٍ وَكُلَّ نَجْمٍ.
I know every dune and every star.
لَكِنَّنِي لَمْ أَعْرِفِ امْرَأَةً مِثْلَهَا.
But I had never known a woman like her.
الفصل الثاني | Chapter Two
جَاءَتْ وَحْدَهَا تَبْحَثُ عَنِ الصَّمْتِ.
She came alone seeking silence.
مُطَلَّقَةٌ فِي الخَمْسِينَ، مِنْ أُورُوبَّا.
A divorcee in her fifties, from Europe.
بِجَسَدٍ مُمْتَلِئٍ وَعُيُونٍ حَزِينَةٍ.
With a full body and sad eyes.
الفصل الثالث | Chapter Three
"خُذْنِي إِلَى أَبْعَدِ مَكَانٍ،" قَالَتْ.
"Take me to the farthest place," she said.
"حَيْثُ لَا أَحَدَ وَلَا شَيْءَ."
"Where there is no one and nothing."
"الصَّحْرَاءُ سَتُعْطِيكِ مَا تُرِيدِينَ."
"The desert will give you what you want."
الفصل الرابع | Chapter Four
رَكِبْنَا الجِمَالَ ثَلَاثَ سَاعَاتٍ.
We rode camels for three hours.
حَتَّى وَصَلْنَا إِلَى خَيْمَةٍ وَحِيدَةٍ.
Until we reached a solitary tent.
"هُنَا سَنَبِيتُ اللَّيْلَةَ."
"Here we will spend the night."
الفصل الخامس | Chapter Five
تَحْتَ سَمَاءٍ مَلِيئَةٍ بِالنُّجُومِ، جَلَسْنَا.
Under a sky full of stars, we sat.
"لَمْ أَرَ جَمَالاً كَهَذَا مِنْ قَبْلُ..."
"I have never seen beauty like this before..."
"وَأَنَا لَمْ أَرَ امْرَأَةً كَجَمَالِكِ."
"And I have never seen a woman of your beauty."
الفصل السادس | Chapter Six
"أَنَا كَبِيرَةٌ فِي السِّنِّ..." قَالَتْ.
"I am old..." she said.
"فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ، لَا يُوجَدُ عُمْرٌ."
"In the desert, there is no age."
"يُوجَدُ فَقَطْ اللَّحْظَةُ."
"There is only the moment."
الفصل السابع | Chapter Seven
دَاخِلَ الخَيْمَةِ، عَلَى فِرَاشٍ مِنَ الرَّمْلِ النَّاعِمِ.
Inside the tent, on a bed of soft sand.
اكْتَشَفْنَا حَرَارَةً أَقْوَى مِنْ شَمْسِ الصَّحْرَاءِ.
We discovered heat stronger than the desert sun.
"جَسَدُكِ كَالكُثْبَانِ... نَاعِمٌ وَمُنْحَنٍ."
"Your body is like the dunes... soft and curved."
الفصل الثامن | Chapter Eight
مَكَثَتْ أُسْبُوعًا كَامِلاً فِي الصَّحْرَاءِ.
She stayed a whole week in the desert.
كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ تَحْتَ النُّجُومِ، كُنَّا نَكْتَشِفُ بَعْضَنَا.
Every night under the stars, we discovered each other.
"سَأَعُودُ..." قَالَتْ عِنْدَ الوَدَاعِ.
"I will return..." she said at farewell.
الخاتمة | Conclusion
الصَّحْرَاءُ تَحْفَظُ كُلَّ الأَسْرَارِ.
The desert keeps all secrets.
الرِّيَاحُ تَمْسَحُ الآثَارَ لَكِنَّهَا لَا تَمْسَحُ الذِّكْرَيَاتِ.
The winds erase footprints but not memories.
وَهِيَ تَعُودُ كُلَّ سَنَةٍ كَمَا وَعَدَتْ.
And she returns every year as she promised.
من حكايات الصحراء From the Tales of the Sahara