Bahbel: Makkah Multiverse 1945-2009

The Al-Sardars are a typical example of an ancient and noble family in Makkah. Into this family, where the father controls every aspect of their lives, a child is born – Abbas (Bahbel) – as one of a pair of twins; yet the midwife says the other twin has ‘disappeared’. Abbas grows up close to the women of the family, and decides to write about their lives. Through this novel, we see Makkah – and in particular, the lives of women living there – from 1945 to 2009, a period of huge change in a city dominated by the presence of sacred shrines.