The Map of Love (83 page)

bass:
Stop it! Enough! Probably from Italian ‘Basta!’

Bey:
see
Basha
.

b’iftikarak
…: What good will it do you to remember?

brawa
aleiha:
bravo (on her).

Coptic calendar:
the most extreme persecution of Christians in Egypt took place in the reign of the Roman emperor Diclidianus. The Coptic Church adopted the year of his ascension,
AD
284, as the beginning of a new calendar: the Time of the Martyrs.

corvée:
forced labour — employed for large national projects like digging the Suez Canal, but also for work on the Pashas’ or the Khedive’s lands.

courbash (kurbaj):
the whip. Normally made of rhinoceros hide.

Dar al-Kutub:
the National Library of Egypt.

Dönme:
a member of a Judaeo-Islamic syncretist sect.

Dustur:
Constitution.

el-
and
al-
: prefix meaning ‘the’; see
al
.

faddan
(also feddan): a measure of area used for agricultural land in Egypt. Roughly equivalent to an acre.

Fadilatukum:
form of address to a sheikh who holds a religious position. Similar to Your Grace. Literally ‘Your Virtue’, from ‘fadeelah’: that by which one person is preferred (f/dd/1) over another.

fallah
(also fellah): peasant. Feminine:
fallaha
. Plural:
fal-laheen
, from (f/l/h) to till the land. The root also means: to be successful.

fantasia:
fantaziyya, a display of extravagant joie de vivre (as in ‘what’s all this fantaziyya’ to a child wearing fancy ribbons in her hair). British travellers used it specifically as a name for an event of Bedouin horsemanship.

fasakhani:
a shop that specialises in salted fish and roe.

Firman:
an absolute decree issued by the Ottoman sultan from Constantinople.

galabiyya:
long, loose robe worn by peasants and traditional people of Egypt.

Ghezirah
(also
Gezira):
island. Also a district of Cairo which is an island in the Nile.

gibba
(also
djibbah):
traditional long garment of sarinised
cotton, usually white with thin black stripes, worn by men of religion under the quftan.

habara:
a woman’s cloak.

habbet el-barakah:
a seed, the oil of which is widely used for medicinal purposes. Recently found to have a good effect on the immune system.

habibi:
my darling, my beloved — masculine (feminine:
habibti)
.

hadith:
discourse.

hanim:
Turkish for ‘lady’.

haraam:
it is sinful, it is pitiful, it is arousing of compassion, it should not be done.

haraam
aleik:
literally ‘it is a sin upon you’, used as ‘please don’t say that’ or ‘you should not do that’.

haram:
the root h/r/m denotes a sacred or inviolable space. The haram of a mosque is the space within its walls. The haram of a university is its campus. The haram of a man is his wife. A man is referred to as the ‘zawg’ or ‘the other half of the pair’ of his wife.

haramlek:
the area in a house reserved for women.

hareem
(also harem): women, from h/r/m: sacred.

hasal kheir:
‘good has come about’, to be said when something not so good has happened but has ended without too much damage. Equivalent: ‘it’s not that bad’.

hay a wan:
animal.

hayy:
alive.

ibn:
son.

ibni:
my son.

Ibrahimiyyah:
large irrigation canal from the Nile.

iftar:
literally ‘breaking the fast’. Used for breakfast on normal days and for the sunset meal during Ramadan.

imma:
turban.

ingelisi:
Englishman; feminine
ingeliziyya
.

insha
Allah
(also
inshalla):
if God wills. Used as ‘I hope’ or ‘let’s hope so’ or ‘I wish’, etc.

Isa:
Jesus — a name common to both Muslims and Copts.

‘Isha:
dusk or early evening. From
a/sh/a: to become unable
to see. Also the name of the prayers performed at dusk — the last of the day’s five prayers.

Iskindiriyya:
Alexandria

ismallah (ism Allah):
the name of God (protect you).

itfaddal:
please go ahead, please come in, please sit down. Literally ‘do [me] the favour’ (as in Italian per favore). Feminine:
itfaddali
.

izzay el-sehha?:
How are you? Literally how is the health?

Jama’at (Islamiyyah):
(Islamist) groups. General name for several factions of Islamist activists in Egypt who believe in armed opposition to the state.

jinn:
supernatural beings. Generally naughty, can be evil.

kalb ya ibn el-kalb:
(you) dog, you son-of-a-dog.

kattar kheirak:
(may God) increase your bounty. Literally ‘increase the good that comes from you’, used as ‘thank you’.

Kesh malik:
Cringe, King! Warning before checkmate.

keteer:
a lot.

khalas:
literally ‘it’s finished’, used also as ‘done’ or ‘agreed’.

khali
(also
khalu):
my uncle — specifically my mother’s brother.

khamaseen:
winds that blow in March and bring the desert sands into the cities.