Genil."
"Then there's no escape."
Naeem stared at him inquisitively, but Abu Jaafar remained silent, explaining nothing of what he had just said. The river's currents had swallowed up the last hope. The cord of the nation was severed and God's children have been orphaned.
For three nights neither Granada nor Albaicin slept. 1 The people talked incessantly not of the peace treaty but of the disappearance of Mousa Ibn Abi Ghassan. They were swallowed up by rumors that swept in waves from the River Genil to the Ainadamar watercourse, 2 from the Najd Gate to the Sahl Ibn Malik cemetery. The news seeped onto the streets and throughout every neighborhood, as well as into all the public gardens. The waters of the Genil carried it from the outskirts of the city and brought it into the Darro where it crossed over to the west bank. From there it traveled to Sabika, Alhambra, and the Generalife. It reached the end of the east bank that connected to the old Casbah and Albaicin. It extended beyond the walls and gates of the city, past the towers and the fences of the vineyards, toward the Sierra Nevada from one side, and toward the Gibralfaro to the other.
1. Albaicin is a suburb of Granada where the Muslims resided in the post-Reconquest. Its origin is most likely from the Arabic, al-Bayyazin, the falconers.
2. The Fuente Grande, known to the Muslims as Ainadamar, from the Arabic 'ayn al-dam ', the fountain of tears.
Some claimed that Mousa Ibn Abi Ghassan had stormed out of the meeting at Alhambra resolved to fight the Castilians. He battled their troops single-handedly, but when they caught up with him and were on the verge of defeating him, he threw himself into the river. Others said that he was killed by the young King Muhammad who wanted to accomplish his goals without any conflict or opposition. The ill-fated chiquito handed over the country and sold whatever he could of it while Ibn Abi Ghassan lay in wait for him.
A third group believed that he neither drowned himself nor was killed, but rather that he escaped to the mountains to train men and prepare for battle. And yet a fourth group held the view that drowning or not drowning made no difference whatsoever, but that these were not his times, nor ours. So, why don't we either carry off what we can of our possessions and depart, they thought, or remain as Muslims, entrusting ourselves to God and the new rulers, and live out the remainder of our lives in peace.
How could this be? This question was like a sharp knife that made a deep incision in Abu Jaafar's soul, and like everyone else it made him wary just to think about it, let alone discuss it with others. He was pondering this question when the town crier passed by, announcing the articles of the new agreement. He walked out toward him until he stood right next to him. Abu Jaafar listened carefully to all the terms of the agreement, beginning with the decree that the king of Granada, his military officers, the judges and chamberlains, scholars and lawyers, as well as all other public officials, turn over the reins of power in a period not to exceed sixty days. Then the last term was read out, which decreed that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella be granted the exclusive right to execute the terms of the treaty, and to pass this right on to their sons and grandsons and whomever succeeded them to the throne. When the town crier moved on to another place Abu Jaafar remained close behind.
The people of Granada always kept their ears to the ground and were prone to gathering as much information as possible. Whenever the town crier announced an item of news, or the imam at the mosque ascended the pulpit before the Friday prayer to expound upon a given subject, whether to explain or defend it, they listened out of a need for reassurance or for something to hold on to, and they were quick to fill the gaps left by any missing information from these public pronouncements. But this time, in spite of the fact that neither the
"Then there's no escape."
Naeem stared at him inquisitively, but Abu Jaafar remained silent, explaining nothing of what he had just said. The river's currents had swallowed up the last hope. The cord of the nation was severed and God's children have been orphaned.
For three nights neither Granada nor Albaicin slept. 1 The people talked incessantly not of the peace treaty but of the disappearance of Mousa Ibn Abi Ghassan. They were swallowed up by rumors that swept in waves from the River Genil to the Ainadamar watercourse, 2 from the Najd Gate to the Sahl Ibn Malik cemetery. The news seeped onto the streets and throughout every neighborhood, as well as into all the public gardens. The waters of the Genil carried it from the outskirts of the city and brought it into the Darro where it crossed over to the west bank. From there it traveled to Sabika, Alhambra, and the Generalife. It reached the end of the east bank that connected to the old Casbah and Albaicin. It extended beyond the walls and gates of the city, past the towers and the fences of the vineyards, toward the Sierra Nevada from one side, and toward the Gibralfaro to the other.
1. Albaicin is a suburb of Granada where the Muslims resided in the post-Reconquest. Its origin is most likely from the Arabic, al-Bayyazin, the falconers.
2. The Fuente Grande, known to the Muslims as Ainadamar, from the Arabic 'ayn al-dam ', the fountain of tears.
Some claimed that Mousa Ibn Abi Ghassan had stormed out of the meeting at Alhambra resolved to fight the Castilians. He battled their troops single-handedly, but when they caught up with him and were on the verge of defeating him, he threw himself into the river. Others said that he was killed by the young King Muhammad who wanted to accomplish his goals without any conflict or opposition. The ill-fated chiquito handed over the country and sold whatever he could of it while Ibn Abi Ghassan lay in wait for him.
A third group believed that he neither drowned himself nor was killed, but rather that he escaped to the mountains to train men and prepare for battle. And yet a fourth group held the view that drowning or not drowning made no difference whatsoever, but that these were not his times, nor ours. So, why don't we either carry off what we can of our possessions and depart, they thought, or remain as Muslims, entrusting ourselves to God and the new rulers, and live out the remainder of our lives in peace.
How could this be? This question was like a sharp knife that made a deep incision in Abu Jaafar's soul, and like everyone else it made him wary just to think about it, let alone discuss it with others. He was pondering this question when the town crier passed by, announcing the articles of the new agreement. He walked out toward him until he stood right next to him. Abu Jaafar listened carefully to all the terms of the agreement, beginning with the decree that the king of Granada, his military officers, the judges and chamberlains, scholars and lawyers, as well as all other public officials, turn over the reins of power in a period not to exceed sixty days. Then the last term was read out, which decreed that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella be granted the exclusive right to execute the terms of the treaty, and to pass this right on to their sons and grandsons and whomever succeeded them to the throne. When the town crier moved on to another place Abu Jaafar remained close behind.
The people of Granada always kept their ears to the ground and were prone to gathering as much information as possible. Whenever the town crier announced an item of news, or the imam at the mosque ascended the pulpit before the Friday prayer to expound upon a given subject, whether to explain or defend it, they listened out of a need for reassurance or for something to hold on to, and they were quick to fill the gaps left by any missing information from these public pronouncements. But this time, in spite of the fact that neither the
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