A classic novel is one that makes a contribution to literature, whether through style, form or subject matter.
Most importantly, they reflect life, truth and beauty in a universal way.
For those looking to dive into the world through Arabic literature, here are eight to start with.
The Arabian Nights
Also known as One Thousand and One Nights or The Arabian Nights' Entertainment, many people have been exposed to this epic and influential work of fiction to some capacity.
A collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, the works have been collected, translated and reimagined by many storytellers and authors across different cultures.
While the origin of some in the collection have been debated by many scholars, the structure of the tale has always been the same. Shahryar is the ruler of a vast and powerful kingdom who, after discovering his wife’s betrayal, kills her and begins a genocide. He marries a new bride every day and on their wedding night, beheads her. Until the intelligent and well-read Shahrazad, daughter of the wazir, offers herself as his next bride with a plan.
On their wedding night, Shahrazad begins to tell Shahryar a story. As the sun starts to rise, the story has reached a cliffhanger and the king, intrigued to know what happens next, postpones her execution to hear the rest of the story the following night.
This continues for 1,001 nights, as Shahrazad weaves story after story, including Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves together, with the hopes of making the king see the error of his ways.
Return of the Spirit
First published in Arabic in 1933, Egyptian playwright and auhtor Tawfiq al-Hakim’s novel is considered his most important work.
The novel follows a patriotic young Egyptian and his extended family as they cope with the social and political events leading up to the 1919 Egyptian Revolution.
Al-Hakim cleverly ties together his protagonist’s eventual enlightenment and a complex love story with the country's own spiritual and political awakening.
The Cairo Trilogy
Naguib Mahfouz’s epic trilogy written between 1956 and 57 consists of three novels: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar Street.
The saga follows the story of one family in Cairo starting in 1919, the start of the Egyptian Revolution against the British colonisers ruling Egypt and ending in 1944, almost the end of the Second World War.
Starting with the perspective of the patriarch of the Al-Sayyid family, Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, the saga follows his family across three generations, with readers introduced to the rich history of socio-political life in Egypt.
The Open Door
Latifa al-Zayyat’s revolutionary novel was written in 1960 in colloquial Egyptian Arabic. It is a coming-of-age story set against the background of the growing Egyptian nationalist movement before the 1952 revolution.
As Cairo is engulfed by demonstrations against the British, protagonist Layla fights against the social codes and conventions that dictate the lives of all young women, mirroring Egypt’s own struggles to fight off imperialist rule.
Season of Migration to the North
The classic post-colonial Arabic story by Sudanese writer Tayeb Salih, published in 1966, is not only the novel he is best known for, but is considered by many authors and critics as one of the best examples of Arabic fiction.
The story details the conflicts of Sudan and the history of European colonialism through the perspective of an unnamed narrator in the 1950s, who has returned to his Sudanese village on the Nile after completing his doctoral thesis in the UK.
But upon returning, he meets curious character Mustafa Saeed, who tells him of his own harrowing experiences living in London and why he chose to return to Sudan.
As a child of British colonialism and having studied in the UK, his story leaves the unnamed narrator at a loss, trying to make sense of who he is and his place in his homeland.
The Days
Written and published in three volumes throughout Taha Hussein’s life, The Days is a novelised autobiography by the Egyptian professor.
Beginning with his childhood in a small village, then his studies in Egypt, France and his return home, Hussein’s work deals with themes of ignorance, education and his constant resistance of the status quo, whether in Egypt or abroad.
Filled with detailed and sensory descriptions, Hussein also combines first and third-person narration through a style that marked the start of a new era of modern Arabic writing.
Memory in the Flesh
Algerian author Ahlam Mosteghanemi’s novel is considered one of the most important Arabic novels in recent years due to its style and subject matter.
The novel spans more than four decades of Algerian history, from the 1940s to the 1980s. Readers are introduced to the love affair between middle-aged militant Khaled, who becomes a painter after losing his left arm, and Hayat, the daughter of his friend, freedom fighter Si Taher.
Their tumultuous relationship is set against the backdrop of Algeria's struggle against foreign domination while forming its own identity post-independence.
The novel is praised for Mosteghanemi’s style of combining traditional and local storytelling with literary techniques.
Gold Dust
Libyan writer Ibrahim al-Koni’s novel is a thrilling tale that combines philosophy, history, culture and myth through a man’s relationship with his camel.
Ukhayyad and his thoroughbred flee his tribe and are hunted by the family of the man he killed. As he travels across the desolate Tuareg deserts of the Libyan Sahara, there are wars against the Italians in the north and famine raging in the south.
Ukhayyad heads to the caves of Jebel Hasawna and inside, surrounded by the ancient and prophetic cave paintings of ancient hunting scenes, awaits the arrival of his pursuers for a final showdown.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Company%20profile
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
