11 stories
The Iraqi Calligrapher | الخطاط العراقي
She preserves Arabic calligraphy in post-war Iraq. He's the museum curator who wants to exhibit her work. Their art creates new meaning.
دَرْسُ أَدَوَاتِ الجَزْمِ | The Lesson of Jussive Particles
A commander in the Abbasid army learns the grammar of commands and conditions through أدوات الجزم, as orders become intertwined with desire.
دَرْسُ الحَالِ | The Lesson of the Circumstantial State
A spy in Abbasid Baghdad learns to describe actions in their precise state, as she decodes messages hidden in the grammar of whispered secrets.
دَرْسُ الإِضَافَةِ | The Lesson of the Possessive Construction
A librarian in Baghdad teaches a visiting nobleman the possessive construction through whispered lessons among ancient manuscripts.
The Caliph's Concubine | جارِيَةُ الخَليفَة
In the golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate, a Persian concubine discovers forbidden passion with the Caliph's trusted vizier.
The Hammam Attendant | خادِمَةُ الحَمّام
In the steamy chambers of a Baghdad hammam, a wealthy widow finds unexpected pleasure in the skilled hands of an attendant who knows all the secrets of the body.
The Harem's Secret | سِرُّ الحَريم
Within the forbidden walls of the royal harem, a eunuch guard discovers he is not as he seems, and the Sultan's favorite wife awakens desires long thought impossible.
The Poet's Muse of Baghdad | مُلْهِمَةُ الشّاعِرِ في بَغْداد
In the golden age of Baghdad, a renowned poet discovers his greatest inspiration in the arms of a palace courtesan whose body becomes the canvas for his most passionate verses.
The Scholar of Baghdad | عالِمُ بَغْداد
A tale of forbidden knowledge and desire in the House of Wisdom, where a young scribe discovers more than ancient texts in the arms of a mysterious scholar.
The Vizier's Forbidden Love | حُبُّ الوَزيرِ المُحَرَّم
In the palace of the Abbasid caliphs, a powerful vizier risks everything for a night of passion with the Sultan's neglected favorite, knowing that discovery means death.
The Wine Merchant's Cellar | قَبْوُ تاجِرِ الخَمْر
In the hidden cellars of a Christian merchant in Abbasid Baghdad, forbidden wine flows freely, and so does passion between a Muslim nobleman and the merchant's voluptuous daughter.