The Map Of Love Part 43

Iskindiriyya: Alexandria ismallah (ism Allah): the name of G.o.d (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 G.o.d) 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.

khatibet akhuya: my brother's fiancee.

khawagaya: a foreign (European) woman. Masculine: kha-waga.

Khedive: t.i.tle of the ruler of Egypt from Abbas Pasha in 1849 to the Sultan Hussein Kamel during the First World War.

kheir: (may what has happened/the news be) good.

kit tan: flax.

kufiyya: scarf.

kufr: disbelief. Kafir: an unbeliever (in Islam, Christianity or Judaism, the three religions of the Book).

kunafa: a sweet pastry.

kuttab: traditional elementary school which teaches reading, writing and the Qur'an.

la hawla wala quwwata ilia b-Illah: there is no power or strength but with the support of G.o.d. Said when matten go beyond what you can help. It is a kind of 'I am absolved of responsibility in this'. An expression of helpless sadness as one watches matters get out of hand. Also of exasperation as an opponent refuses to see sense.

la hawl Illtah: short, ungrammatical version of above.

lalu: childspeak for 'khalu': my uncle - specifically my mother's brother.

lek yom: your day will come (when you will be defeated).

lessa: not yet.

maalesh: never mind.

mafish: there is no[ne] ...

magzub: one drawn (to G.o.d) by religious fervour to the extent that he separates himself from all worldly matters -and (the worldly) part of his mind. From g/z/b: to pull.

mamur: chief of police (of the markaz).

mandarah: a room slightly apart from the house to receive male visitors who are not of the family.

tnarhab: welcome.

markaz: centre. Also central police station (of the district).

masha Allah: literally 'Look what G.o.d has willed!' Used to express admiration without being thought envious or activating the evil eye.

mashrabiyya: the ornate wooden screen that protects the privacy of the balconies in traditional houses.

mawwal: a traditional form of folk song, usually narrative, performed by one singer to the accompaniment of a rudimentary string instrument (a rabab). It is roughly equivalent to the English ballad, but relies heavily on verbal play, the lines often ending in a pun.

mayyit: dead.

Misa al-khairat: Oh evening of many good things!

mutasarrif: governor (Ottoman t.i.tle).

n'har iswid: (Oh) black day.

Nahdet Masr: the Renaissance of Egypt.

nazra: a look.

oud: lute.

Qaroon: historical (or mythological) character reputed to be fabulously rich.

quftan: traditional long garment of wool or heavy cotton, in a dark colour, worn by men of religion over the gibba.

Rabb: G.o.d - although the specific name of G.o.d is 'Allah'. So: Allahu Rabbi: Allah is my G.o.d.

Rabi al-Thani: a month of the Arab year. The Arab year has twelve months. But since the months are lunar (the full moon falls on the 14th day of each month), it is shorter by eleven days than the Western year.

ruqa: the informal Arabic script used for personal letters, drafts and notes. Ruqa is also the piece of paper on which the writing is done. Possibly: writing done on a sc.r.a.p - rather than the formal 'naskh' (copying script) done on a formal folio.

Safar: the second month of the Arab year.

Sahara: desert.

salamlek: part of the house where men can move freely (as opposed to the haramlek, where they can only go by permission of the women).

'Salamu aleik.u.m (alayk.u.m)'. "Aleik.u.m as-salam wa rahmatu allahi wa barakatuh.': 'Peace be upon you.' 'And upon you peace and the mercy of G.o.d and His blessings.' Traditional greeting and response upon arrival and departure. Spelled differently according to level of formality in speech.

Sallim silahak ya Urabi: surrender your arms, Urabi. Used for when an opponent is in an impossible position - as Urabi was in Tel el-Kebir. Chess terminology: Wazir: [Prime] Minister. In the West the Queen; the Elephant is the Bishop, the Horse is the Knight and the Fortress is the Rook.

sanduq el-dunya: Literally 'the box of the world'. A peep-show. Putting your head beneath a black hood and your eye to the peephole, you could see the seven wonders of the world or the Eiffel Tower etc.

Satir: One of the names of G.o.d. Literally He who shields, covers, protects.

Sattar: One of the names of G.o.d. Emphatic form of He who shields, covers, protects.

sayyid: master, also used as 'mister'.

sayyidna: our master, used to a sheikh.

sebertaya: small stove lit with seberto (spirits, alcohol).

sett: lady.

Settena Maryam: Our Lady Mary.

setti: my lady.

shahada: the creed. 'I bear witness that there is no G.o.d but G.o.d and that Muhammad is his prophet.' From sh/h/d: to bear witness. This is the first of the five essential bases of Islam and what a Muslim will say in extremis, such as at the moment of death.

sheikh el-mestakhabbi, el-: the hidden sheikh (kh/b/a: to grow faint; kh/bb/a: to hide (transitive); makhba is a hideout, an air-raid shelter) s...o...b..ik lobbeik, khaddamak bein eidek: the traditional opening line of the jinni of the lamp. 'Lobbeik' is a variation on 1/bb/a; to respond. 's...o...b..ik' is there for the rhyme, although it is also a variant on 'What's the matter with you?' in Levantine dialect. 'Khaddamak': your servant, from kh/ d/m: to serve. Bein: between. Eideik: your hands.

shwayya: a little.

si: shortened version of sidi.

sidaq: money given as pledge of marriage. Normally given by the man to the woman, the lesser part on the signing of the marriage contract, the greater held back as the woman's insurance against divorce.

sidi: my master (abbreviated from sayyidi) used in secular context.

Southern Lebanon Army Militias: army created and funded by Israel from right-wing Lebanese militias.

Sublime Porte: a t.i.tle for the Sultan (al-Bab al-'Ali).

sufragi: a male attendant. From Turkish 'sufra': table (laid for dining), one who attends the 'sufra' - a footman.

suhur: late meal eaten to prepare for the next day's fast during Ramadan. Can be any time from two in the morning until just before the rising of the sun.

sura: a chapter of the Quran.

Suret Yasin: the Chapter of Yasin. A favourite chapter for reciting for the dead as it tells of G.o.d's mercy and of paradise.

syce: groom. From Arabic 'sayis', root: s/a/s, to tame (siyasah is politics, siyasi is both a politician and a tactful person, musayasah is coaxing).

takht: literally 'a raised platform' and by metonymie transfer the musical ensemble to accompany a singer. It consists of a lute, a qanun (a kind of small horizontal harp), a tambourine and a tabla (drum). The musicians are all seated.

tar ab: explained in text, mutrib: one who causes tarab, shab tereb: a gay dog, a young blade; tarabattatta tarabattat-tee: tra-la-la; Jamal wa Taroob: a Lebanese singing couple who were in vogue in Cairo in the Sixties; etmanni mniyyah: make a wish; w'estanni alayya: and give me some time; iddili Pmiyya: count to a hundred,...

tarbush: fez.

tarha: headcover of black chiffon used by traditional women. If worn in the house it is white and shows great piety.

tayyib: good, very well, OK.

Tewfiq: the Khedive of Egypt in 1882 during the Urabi Revolution.

Tokar, I'll have you sent to: a common expression of threat. Tokar was a distant province in the Sudan known for its harsh climate and conditions. When the Sudan was under Egyptian/Turkish rule, an officer or civil servant who incurred the displeasure of the authorities was posted to Tokar - there to live a miserable life and die an early death.

Toshki: a huge irrigation project, inaugurated in January 1997, to create another main branch for the Nile at Toshki, slightly south-west of Aswan.

Toubah and Baramhat: Coptic names of the months corresponding to January and April. Fallaheen, in their dealings with the land, still work by the old Coptic calendar as it most accurately corresponds to the specific climate of Egypt.

umdah: the headman of a village. In 1997 a law was pa.s.sed making it possible for women to hold the position of umdah.

umm/u: mother. In traditional society a woman, rather than being called by her given name, is called umm followed by the name of her oldest child. Similarly a man is called abu (father of) followed by the name of his oldest child. This is considered more respectful than using the given name.

ummi: my mother.

uqal (also ugal): the black cord circle worn on the crown of the head over a kufiyya.

wa (also we and w'): and.

W' mit bosa: and a hundred kisses.

wadi: valley [of].

walla ma: or not. Derogatory, dismissive, 'it makes no difference' - like the use of the prefix 'shm' in Jewish-American parlance.

waqf: a trust.

ya: vocative instrument - optional if the vocative phrase is at the beginning of the utterance, obligatory if it is in the middle.

Yafa: Palestinian coastal town. English: Jaffa.

ya-fandim: sir (abbreviated ya afandi).

yakhti (ya okhti): my sister.

yalla: hurry, let's go.

yama: an indication of great quant.i.ty, as in 'yama I told him, but he wouldn't listen'.

yani: an interjection. Literally 'it means'. But used like 'you know' and 'almost' and 'so-so'.