adhan: the call to prayer.
Amanch ya Layl: ‘I trust you, O night!’ part of the mawwal, a sung colloquial Arabic poem.
‘Antar and ‘Abla: a famous couple from the pre-Islamic period. The poet Antar declared his love to his cousin Abla in memorable poems.
araq: known as ‘uzzo’ in the West. An alcoholic drink made from raisins.
al-Atlal: literally ‘the ruins;’ the tide of a famous song interpreted by the well-known Egyptian singer, Umm Kalthum.
Avicenna: Western name for the Muslim philosopher Ibn Sina (980-1037).
awwameh: a type of Arab sweet, similar to doughnuts.
Bab al-Khalil: one of the gates of the old city in East Jerusalem.
balouza: a milk custard.
Bilal the Stupid: the author may be deliberately recalling the name ‘Bilal,’ the name of a historical figure, the freed black slave, a convert to Islam, who was the first person to make the call to prayers, the adhan.
bisarah: Egyptian dish made of ground fava beans, onions, and garlic, with appropriate spices.
bushnaq: a term used to refer to someone who is fair-skinned and good-looking; from the name of a family, ‘Bushnaq,’ that emigrated from Bosnia to Palestine and Jordan in the late nineteenth century.
dabkeh: a Levantine folk dance.
dhikr: prayers consisting of the invocation of God’s name.
diwan: gathering place for either formal or informal meetings.
dunum: a measure of land. One dunum is equal to 1,000 square meters.
Eliya Abu Madi: twentieth-century Lebanese poet (1894-1957), a member of the Mahjar school established by the immigrant poets in New York, and made famous by Khalil Gibran.
Fairuz: Contemporary female Lebanese singer, born in 1935, popular throughout the Arab world.
falafel: deep fried bean cakes made with broad beans, herbs, sesame seeds, and spices.
al-Falaq, al-Kursi, and Yasin: titles of chapters (suras) in the Qur’an.
far/nar/tar: the phonetic similarity between far (‘rat’), nar (‘fire’)and tar (‘revenge’) is very close and justifies the confusion of the three words.
al-Fatiha: the opening chapter (sura) in the Qur’an.
fidai: freedom or guerilla fighter.
ful: specially cooked fava beans eaten for breakfast.
Georgina Rizk: Lebanese winner of the 1971 Miss Universe beauty contest (b. 1943).
ha’ (haq): the colloquial Palestinian word for a (legal or moral) right, also meaning ‘price’ or ‘cost.’ Hence the play on words in the novel.
hajj/hajjeh: term used to refer to or directly address men and women who have performed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
al-Hamd: the opening word of the Fatiha, the first chapter (sura) in the Qur’an.
al-Haram al-Sharif: name used to refer to the compound that includes both the Dome of the Rock mosque and the Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem.
Haykal, Muhammad Hasanayn: well know Egyptian political journalist, writer, and editor, who served as editor-in-chief of the Egyptian daily newspaper, al-Ahram, and later served as adviser to, and was a close confidant of Gamal Abd al-Nasser. Also the author of numerous books about Egyptian politics (b. 1923).
ka‘ek: pretzel-like bread, covered with sesame seeds and eaten with either za’tar, cheese, or hard boiled eggs.
Khaled Muhammad Khaled: contemporary Egyptian intellectual and journalist.
khatma: recitation of the entire Qur’an for a specific intention.
kirdan: a large necklace, part of country women’s jewelry.
knafeh: dough shaped like shredded wheat, stuffed with walnuts or sweet cheese, and baked in syrup and melted butter.
kufiyeh: a long scarf worn under the ‘i’qal as a headdress; also a black and white checkered scarf used by Palestinians as a national symbol.
al-Ma‘arri, Abu al-’Ala’: blind poet (973-1057) of the Abbasid period.
madhahib: schools of Islamic jurisprudence or law.
mahaleb: a kind of cheese, made from goat’s milk.
Makhfiyeh: residential, middle-class neighborhood located on the mountain of Jersim, in Nablus.
mansaf: a dish of rice, meat, and yogurt.
maramiyeh: verbena.
mashallah: literally ‘what God wills;’ an expression uttered as an expression of appreciation for God’s gifts. Also a piece of gold jewelry worn as a trinket on a chain around the neck as a means of protection.
mawwal: see Amaneh ya Layl above.
msakhkhan: a traditional Palestinian dish of chicken, onions, sumac, and olive oil. Eaten with thin country bread.
mulukhiya: pronounced ‘mlukhiyeh’ by Palestinians, a thick soup-sauce made of Jew’s mallow, especially prized in Egypt.
Musrareh: a neighborhood in West Jerusalem.
Muwashshah: a stanzaic Arabic poem put to music and sung.
al-Nakba: ‘catastrophe;’ the name that Palestinians use to describe the events surrounding the loss of their homeland in 1948. The year of the creation of the State of Israel, 1948 is seen by Palestinians as a disastrous year in their history, turning them into a refugee people.
Nizar Qabbani: modern Syrian poet and diplomat, famous for his love poems (1923-98).
owl: the sight of an owl is a bad omen in Arab tradition.
Qays wa Layla: proverbial couple famous for their platonic love, which Qays ibn al-Mulawah, an Umayyad poet, described in his poetry.
qazha: nigella seeds. Pronounced ‘azha’ in colloquial Palestinian. The seeds are highly prized for their medicinal value and taste-enhancing effect. Often sprinkled on goat’s cheese.
qirat: carat, a gold weight measure.
al-Ram, al-Tireh, and Abu Dees: Palestinian villages close to Jerusalem.
Rose al-Yusuf: a late-nineteenth-century female Egyptian journalist. She founded a weekly magazine that carries her name and is published to the present day.
salam: an Arabic word of greeting meaning ‘peace.’
shalom: a Hebrew word of greeting meaning ‘peace.’
shari’a: Islamic law.
al-Shatir Hassan: a hero of Egyptian folk tales who carries off great feats of cunning and bravery.
shawirma: slow-roasted meat or chicken.
shubbayk, lubbayk: magical terms equivalent to the familiar magical expression, Abracadabra. ‘Lubbayk’ is derived from the verb labbayka’ meaning Ï am at your service.’
Sidna’l-Sheikh: term of respect used to address an Imam, a man in charge of religious duties in a mosque.
sitt: Term of address meaning ‘Mrs.’ or ‘lady.’
sukkar qalil: ‘small amount of sugar.’
Sunna: the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, one of the sources of the Shari’a law.
tabbouleh: Levantine salad consisting of burgul, parsley, tomatoes, and onions.
tabliyeh: a traditional low round table, which requires people to sit on the floor when eating around it.
tala‘a al-badru: literally, ‘the full moon has appeared,’ the title of a religious song referring to the Prophet Muhmmad, sung by Umm Kulthum.
tarawih: nightly prayers carried out during the month of Ramadan.
tamriyeh: Arabic sweet made of flour and clarified butter and sweetened with a sugar syrup.
tarbush: a fez.
Umm Kulthum: iconic twentieth-century female Egyptian singer, arguably the most famous in the Arab world (1904-75).
‘umra: The name given to the lesser pilgrimage in Islam. The greater pilgrimage is called the Haj.
Wadi al-Joz: a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Wadi al-Rihan: literally ‘the valley of basil;’ an imaginary location in Palestine.
waqf: plural awqaf. A form of religious endowment in Islam, assigned only for charitable use.
ya: familiar vocative, equivalent in meaning to ‘hey,’ in English. It is also an exclamatory particle.
za‘tar: powder consisting of dried thyme leaves, salt, sumac, and sesame seeds, eaten, usually for breakfast, with bread dipped in olive oil.
zunud al-sitt: a type of Arab sweet.