Emotional Report

Yasser Abdelhafez  |  Literature  |  2013  |  Egypt
This novel is based on historical reality, set in the era of the 16th century AD Mamluk ruler Sultan Al-Ghouri during whose reign the drinking of coffee began to spread across the Arab region. How did the Arabs get introduced to this drink? Starting from Sufi beginnings and traveling to the cultural realm of intellectuals and scientists, this novel seeks to imagine the places and setting where the drinking of coffee was desired, the accompanied changes that took place in terms of socializing and staying up late outside one’s home, the development of public coffee houses, and the counter-reaction by the government to use religious authority to prohibit the drinking of coffee.