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VINTAGE INTERNATIONAL Vintage Books • A Division of Random House, Inc. • New York J\bde:lrabman t\unif Translatedfrom the Arabic by PeterTheroux • T FIRST VINTAGE INTERNATIONAL EDITION, JULY 1989 Tr anslation Copyright© 1987 by Cape Cod Scriveners Company All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited,To ronto. Originally published in Arabic by The Arab Institute for Research and Publishing, Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984. This translation originally published, in hardcover, by Random House, Inc., New York, in 1987. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Muruf, 'Abd al-Rabman. [Mudun al-milh. English] Cities of salt: a novel/ Abdelrahman Munif; translated from the Arabic by Peter Theroux.-1st Vintage International cd. p. cm. Tr anslation of: Cities of salt. ISBN 0-394-75526-X: $12.95 I. Theroux, Peter. II. Title. PJ7850.U514M84131989 88-27032 892'.736-dc19 CIP Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Ali Munif 0 0 0 who departed too soon TRANSLATOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply indebted to two people fo r their help: to my brother Paul fo r his invaluable support and encour­ agement, and to Nayef Al-Rodhan, M.D., whose pa­ tient advice regarding Arabian dialects was crucial to the accuracy of this translation. Heartfelt thanks. P.C.T. 1 AD! AL-UYOUN: AN OUTPOURING OF GREEN (I)amid the harsh, obdurate desert, as if it had burst fr om within the earth or fallen from the sky. It was nothing like its surroundings, or rather had no connection with them, dazzling you with curiosity and wonder: how had water and greenery burst out in a place like this? But the wonder vanished gradually, giving way to a mysterious respect and contemplation. It was one of those rare cases ofnature expressing its genius and willfulness, in defiance of any expla­ nation. Wadi al-Uyoun was an ordinary place to its inhabitants, and excited no strong emotions, fo r they were used to seeing the palm trees fillingthe wadi and the gushing brooks surging fo rth in the winter and early spring, and fe lt protected by some blessed power that made their lives easy. When caravans came, envel- c e s 0 J s a oped in clouds of dust and weakened by hunger and thirst, yet redoubling their efforts, in the last stage of the journey, to reach Wadi al-Uyoun as quickly as possible, they were overtaken by an almost frivolous enthusiasm. They controlled their exuber­ ance and headed straight fo r the water, feeling sure that He who had created the world and humankind had created, at the same time, Wadi al-Uyoun in this very spot as a salvation from death in the treacherous, accursed desert. When the caravan lingered, unloaded its cargoes and watered its men and beasts, a kind of narcotic restfulness set in, a powerful contentment induced by the climate or the sweet water, or perhaps by a sense of danger passed. This affected not only men but camels, who were dis­ tinctly less willing to bear their heavy packs and resume the journey afterward. For caravans, Wadi al-Uyoun was a phenomenon, something of a miracle, unbelievable to those who saw it fo r the first time and unforgettable forever after. The wadi's name was repeated at all stages of a journey, in setting out and returning: "How much longer to Wadi al-Uyoun?" "If we make it to Wadi al­ Uyoun, we'll rest up fo r a fe w days before going on," and "Where are you, Wadi al-Uyoun, earthly paradise?" This urgency in invoking the wadi's name was genuine, fo r in addition to it being a salvation fo r caravans and travelers, its peculiar location enabled the caravan traders to learn a great deal: when other caravans had passed through and where they were headed, what they were carrying and in what quantities, what prices were and who was selling, and other information. Thus the men of a caravan would decide whether to sell here or else­ where, to speed up the journey or slow the pace fo r a fe w days, and what to take on in the way of men and supplies. Left to himself to talk about Wadi al-Uyoun, Miteb al-Hathal would go on in a way no one could believe, fo r he could not confine himself to the good air and the sweetness of the water .. 3 available every day of the year, or to the magnificent nights; he would tell stories which in some cases dated back to the days of Noah, or so said the old men. There was a special relationship, a rare passion between Miteb al-Hathal and Wadi al-Uyoun. Those who had lived there in both periods-the one when Wadi ai-Uyoun was as Miteb knew it, and the fo llowing period­ would speak about it differently. They would say that this wadi, with its palm trees and plentiful water, which soothed and sup­ plied travelers on their way to better places, was indispensable; without it there would have been no life or movement, no road; no tribes would have come; there would never have been Miteb ai-Hathal and his tribe, the Atoum. The wadi stretched fo r about three miles or perhaps a little more. This broad expanse tapered until it became at the end a narrow ribbon with a fe w scattered palms, which survived on what water there was, and what was left behind by the fe w men and animals that strayed there. The end of the wadi was no­ ticeably scragglier, and anyone who stood by the last tree could tell that the salty, sandy earth began there. This particular patch of land linked the wadi and the desert, fo r it rose bit by bit until it became one with the desert. When the wind blew, sand drifted on this land since the fine-branched tamarisk, wormwood and lotus trees, thickly planted at the end of the wadi, prevented the sand fr om mounting, preserving the blackness and solidity of the soil and keeping the encroaching sands at a distance. Hills surrounded the glen, shifting sand hills, but the direction of the winds and the nature of the soil made them immovable, presiding over the wide stretches of surrounding territory. These made good landmarks and had names: Zahra rose fr om the cast, Watfah and Umm al-Athal on the northern side. The hills bor­ dering the wadi on the west and south meant little to travelers or even to the wadi but were named anyway since names were so important in the desert. They were named not through desire c e s 0 J s a or caprice but by nature itself, which had determined the im­ portance, fe atures and location of each hill. People who traveled and were fa miliar with the area knew that the sea was not fa r from Wadi al-Uyoun-perhaps seven or eight days away-but the caravan road passed nowhere near it, following, as it did, the trail of freshwater wells and oases. As to the desert, on the other side, no one could guess where it ended. It might have ended far away or not so far after all, but everyone regarded this as an unknowable secret. Omens of a good year to come always appeared first in Wadi al-Uyoun, for in addition to the abundant water that filled the three reservoirs and encircling streams the good years brought the waters which flowed down to where water was never ex­ pected to reach. In these years vegetables were planted and green plants appeared with the early rains, making the people of Wadi al-Uyoun behave in a way that astonished travelers used to pass­ ing through dozens of similar places. The people would overdo their insistence that all travelers stay there longer, take little fo r what they gave out and dream up occasions to postpone the traveling plans of their visitors. Their generosity would reach the point of extravagance, leading some travelers to consider them silly and rash people who never thought about tomorrow or remembered the hard times they had known in years past. But during the years of drought-which is what most years were-the people of Wadi al-Uyoun behaved differently, were sadder and more introverted, leaving the travelers to act as they pleased, without interfering. If they were offered goods in ex­ change fo r dates, water or any services rendered they accepted them thankfully, and if they asked anything fr om a caravan it was only to seek places fo r new passengers who had prepared and waited a long time to travel. After they had all left, the wadi felt relief and hope, fo r it was rid of burdens and yet could look fo rward to the good things to come from the day they returned, .. 5 fo r all travelers came back sooner or later. Between the relief and the hope, with the steady supply of water and caravans, Wadi al-Uyoun continued to be strong, never fe aring or wa­ vering, fo r it always fo und a way to confront and overcome its misfortunes. Wadi al-Uyoun's people, like its waters, flooded out in times of overabundance: emigration had been a necessity fo r a long time.

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