‘Alī Muṣṭafā al-Miṣrāṭī’s story As-Sā’iḥāt al-ǧamīlāt wa-al-Ḥāǧǧ. Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Maciej Klimiuk

The story I am introducing here is As-Sā’iḥāt al-ǧamīlāt wa-al-Ḥāǧǧ (The beautiful female tourists and the Ḥāǧǧ), chosen from Al-Miṣrāṭī’s Al-Qird fī al-maṭār collection of stories. The reason behind my choice of this particular short story is that it has the tourism issue as a background. Moreover, it contains some scenes where fantasy is mixed with reality, and it also deals with some aspects of the Libyan society including some habits and traditions still in existence. Hereunder, I am quoting and presenting the text from the story, translating it and then giving a short critical account and analysis as to what the text indicates.