Sunset Oasis is a brilliantly imagined tale

Between the years 1879-1882, an Egyptian colonel called Ahmed Urabi led a revolution against the invading forces of his country at that time (take your pick between the Ottomans, the British and not forgetting the so-called French influence!). His revolution ebbed between success and failure but had a catastrophic finale: it brought the English rule to Egypt until 1954.

Urabi’s end was tragic: he was exiled to Sri Lanka for 20 years and came back to Egypt in 1911 to die after being severely ill. This interesting historical background is what Bahaa Tahir (1935-2022) uses for his novel Sunset Oasis (2007). The main character of the book is Mahmoud Abdul Tha’hir, a police officer who’s been sent to Siwa as a punishment for empathising with the revolutionary ideas of Ahmed Urabi and Jamal El-Deen Al Afghani. He doesn’t travel alone; he’s accompanied by his Irish wife Catharine who’s a history buff and a self-proclaimed researcher.

The journey is a treacherous one that takes a few weeks of crossing the desert. Catharine is oblivious to the danger they might face and is obsessing with one idea: she’s heading to the place where Alexander the great was claimed the son of Amun — the ancient Egyptian god- by the oracle of Siwa.

The minute she arrives, her romanticism clashes with the harsh reality: she’s in a hostile environment where Europeans are not welcomed (after the local’s revolution was annihilated by the English a few years back). Nevertheless, Catherine tries her best to discover the place and is appalled to witness the state of ancient Egyptian monuments: mostly looted and turned into common cooking areas.

As for her husband Mahmoud, there are many issues that keeps haunting him: Urabi’s revolution that he took part in and then had to denounce in order to keep his job, trying to make sense of his new life among the hostility of the tribes in Siwa towards him as he’s there to collect taxes for a government they don’t support and Catherine’s boundless history enthusiasm that keeps putting them in danger and direct conflict with the locals. However, things take a sudden turn with the arrival of Catherin’s sister Fiona, whose been recommended the dry climate of Egypt to cure her recurring cough.

Mahmoud’s burdens increase and soon starts clashing with everyone. The novel is divided into chapters where main characters narrate different parts of the story from their point of view which helps in understanding their perspective on different incidents and their emotions. This includes a member of the Siwan tribe Sheikh Sabir, whose narrative helps to understand the strict traditions of the place and the power struggle between the local tribes.

However, the impact of the Turks and later the English rule on the locals is expressed through Mahmoud’s thoughts and his direct conflict with his superiors and colleagues who support it. The writer includes an interesting chapter where Alexander the great also shares his life story briefly including his visit to the oracle of Siwa.

Moreover, a historical claim about his lost tomb being in the same temple where he was claimed a demigod. Tahir’s language and description of scenes – especially nature- are exceptional. The narrative is gripping and flows smoothly. Yet, the ending is abrupt and somehow disappointing.

The novel won the inaugural International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008. It was made into a series that was broadcasted in Ramadan 2017. Tahir’s other fictions include Aunty Saffiya and the Monastery, which won the Italian Acerbi prize in 2000. Sunset Oasis is a brilliantly imagined tale. It’s splendidly written and unforgettable. Highly recommended to history lovers.

The author is a certified skills trainer and the author of The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com