A visual reflection of the world of Falcons — its landscapes, textures, and atmosphere.

“She mourned not the man who once loved her, but the man who had once touched something divine within himself, and then retreated. The real tragedy wasn’t that he had left her. It was that he had left himself.”

“The imam recited a hadith to the men that day: “Each of you is a shepherd, and each of you is responsible for his flock.”

Talal glanced at Khamis, and the two men exchanged a knowing smile. It couldn’t be more true.”

“The combination of malfy arancia and white port went to her head. Less than an hour ago, she thought it was impossible to find anything perfect in the world. She was wrong.”

“People assume modesty is a limitation,” Reem said, turning the sketch toward the bride. “I see it as structure. Like a frame — you can’t build anything meaningful without one.”

“The death of expectation was one of the hardest pills to swallow. Jen had fallen in love with her imaginary life — a beautiful and intelligent young woman, taking on the Middle East alone, learning what mattered along the way. Each day teeming with new people, places, and possibility.

Her life was supposed to be an apothecary of carefully collected worldly trinkets, hearty dinner-party laughter, intriguing conversation, mysterious glances across a crowded cocktail reception — second and third glasses of wine by candlelight, and a cup of fresh mint tea waiting for her guests upon arrival.

She had the objects to prove it. A poster and woven basket from Marrakech. A set of four tea glasses from Istanbul. Yet they sat, perfectly arranged, collecting dust in her Ethan Allen china cabinet. There were no dinner parties. No wine. No guests. And no mint tea.”

“Maybe I’m struggling to understand how you can want something I only learned to endure. That you can look at the same structure and see something liberating in it.”

“The noise from the Deira intersection below barely registered. It was a whisper compared to the never-ending stream of voices, pots, prayers, and televisions that had bled through the walls of her family’s home in Saqqez.”