“Truly at first sight I loved her, I who had slain her kin,” reads the line from the ancient Arabic poem The Ode of Antara by the famed pre-Islamic poet and warrior Antarah Ibn Shaddad. In this section of the poem, Shaddad describes the first moment he saw the love of his life, Abla. Their epic love story is intertwined with the lore of the poet, one of the most formidable sixth century figures from the Arab world. It is a love story that is also depicted by Iraqi painter Mahmood Shubbar in his latest exhibition. “It’s important to do this so the world can understand that Arab culture isn’t a narrow or closed.

Source: Ethiopian News December 18, 2023 16:16 UTC