It blew all day; I must own that the desert would be nicer if it were not plagued with wind.
-Letters of Gertrude Bell, February 22, 1911
But if not for the desert wind, always steady, always true, how else would KhairAllah know where to head his herd, straight into the breeze, due north. Al-Hawa Hilwa, the Breeze is Sweet, Ahmad the Bawwāb would say on sweltering Cairo summer nights, from whatever direction it blew.