after Anthony Hecht’s The Book of Yolek * יש לנו חוק, ובהתאם לחוק היא חייבת למות * لدينا قانون وتبعا للقانون يجب ان تموت It’s a god-fearing land you’ve travelled to and the leaders have divided even the dirt into lots. Your yellow fields look swollen for the summer...
Aqaba puffs up over the North-eastern tip of the Red Sea like pastry leavening. Her streets score crescents into the land and curve down to the market. Shopkeepers spruik souvenirs and lavish meals: Aladdin’s shoes, Sinbad’s dhow, shipwrecked amphorae, gold oil lamps,...
Wadi Rum, the Valley of the Moon as climbers call it, stretches around the sandstone and granite heart of Jabal Ram. A strong -jawed Zalabia man, who has the aspect of Abdullah, stands on a jagged outcrop and stabs his leathery hand into the biting air: the Khaz’ali...
It snows only three days a year in Jordan and each year the snow comes as a surprise: roads are deserted ski slopes; Amman office buildings are coated in frost-paint; and trees are dressed-up as snowmen. Women avoid icy footpaths, while men stay inside with strong...
