A Note on the Translator
Humphrey Davies has translated many Arabic books by a wide range of authors including Bahaa Taher, Khaled Al-Berry, Muhammad Mustagab, Yusuf al-Shirbini, Gamal al-Ghitani and Ahmed Alaydi. His translation of Elias Khoury’s
Gate of the Sun was awarded the Banipal Prize, and that of Alaa Al Aswany’s The Yacoubian Building was voted Best Translation of 2007 by the Society of Authors.