The West is the envy of the East.
-Poem by Ibn Zamrak (1333-1393), inscribed in stucco on the wall of the Comares Palace, The Alhambra, Granada
We talked often about the differences between America and Kordofan, they asking us if everyone there drove cars, we asking them if everyone here drove camels. The drovers didn’t believe us when we told them that driving a camel was preferable to driving a car. Impossible, they answered…Beemers, not Ba’īrs [lit. Dung Droppers]…HiLuxes, not Hashis [Yearlings]…Nissans, not Nāqas [Females]…Jeeps, not Jamals [Males].