Erotica, Love and Humor in Arabia

The Book of Songs of Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani is the most extensive collection of anecdotes from pre-Islam Mecca, Medina, Damascus and Baghdad. Entertaining and informative, these gems have remained largely inaccessible to the Western readers. This new translation presents the complete collection of love stories and poems, biting satires, daring erotic encounters, and bathroom humour.