In a formal ceremony, the Bulgarian Embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman has launched the story collection “Caravan of Thirst” which was translated from Arabic to Bulgarian. The launch was accompanied by the signing ceremony of the collection of stories in its new edition. The collection is written by the Jordanian writer Dr. Sanaa Shalan and translated into the Bulgarian language by writer Khairy Hamdan. The Bulgarian ambassador presented writer Sanaa Shalan with a thanks and appreciation certificate for her efforts in reinforcing the communication and cultural cooperation between the Bulgarian and Arabic cultures.

The Bulgarian Ambassador Alexander Kovachev commended the role of Dr. Haider Ibrahim Mustafa in supporting the publication of this work which came to fruition in partnership with him, he also commended this translated work “Caravan of Thirst” and considered it an important step in the creative communication between the Bulgarian and Arabic cultures as this collection will provide Bulgarian recipient with a new vision of the Arabic scene with its details. There is no doubt that this collection will draw the attention, curiosity and interest of the Bulgarian reader and invites him to communicate with Arabic creativity strongly, particularly in the midst of a growing interest in diverse cultures, especially the Arabic culture.

The president of Bulgarian Graduates Association Dr. Haider Ibrahim Mustafa expressed his pleasure about the publication of this work and his pride in this partnership which supports the human and cultural communication with Bulgaria the friendly nation. At the same time he emphasized the importance of the support provided by private groups and institutions as well as public ones in supporting the Jordanian creativity so it can reach all parts of the world, indicating that he was impressed by the “Caravan of Thirst” collection which he ensured that it will reach the Bulgarian reader as an example of the creativity of Arabic women and to be a model of their free and bold writing.

Dr. Shalan in turn thanked the Bulgarian Embassy and Dr. Haider for their sponsorshipand publishing this collection and for embracing it from the first moment. She also expressed her pride in the partnership with writer Khairy Hamdan who has translated this collection into Bulgarian. She thanked Dr. Saleh Hamdan who was the first godfather of this translation and the one with the first initiative. She read at the launch ceremony the speech of the writer and translator Khairy Hamden who wrote: “It is my pleasure and honour to be able to make a contribution towards putting another brick in building joint relations between Bulgaria and Jordan and to shorten the distance between the Eastern and Western cultures at the same time. This translation and the presentation of the creative writer Dr. Sanaa Shalan is a step along that road. There is no doubt the world of the creative writer Shalan is full of gems and it is useful to present part of this writer’s product to the Bulgarian reader in order to become familiar with the intellectual thinking of the educated Arab especially if that intellectual person is a brave woman who can take us into a world of magic, beauty and justice”.

Dr. Shalan said that she is eager to know the reaction of the Bulgarian reader to this collection which she considers as a special creative adventure in the worlds of Arabic women in a society rife with taboos, contradictions, coercions and crisis. She added that she is proud of this accomplishment which she considers as a widow for her to witness the global creative scene which she is witnessing anew after the translation of her other works into many languages. She believes that moving from the characteristics of the local society will send her towards the realms of globalization.

The collection of “Caravan of Thirst” consists of 96 small size pages published by Al Fanar Publishers; the cover was designed by artist Ahmed Daraghmeh. It contains 16 short stories which is: Caravan of Thirst, The Amorous Window, A Letter to the God, An Exceptional Woman, Midnight Train, The Well of Spirits, Hexagonal Deprivation, King of Hearts and A soul Commanding Love. These stories portray in a bold manner strange models and forms of love manifesting itself in dual dialectical. They are a collection of stories which was published in its first edition in Arabic in 2006 with the support of the Secretariat of Greater Amman, Jordan.

This new work is added to the creative credit of the young novelist Dr. Sanaa Shalan which contains 46 accomplishments from critique books, novels, cultural books, story collections, children books and plays which enabled her to win 50 international, Arabic and local awards in various fields of creative prose writing as well as being the representative, member or chair person of dozens of institutions and cultural, creative and human rights entities as well as participating in creative, academic and human rights conferences around the world. She was honored at dozens of cultural and creative forums. She has won the shield of distinguished university lecturer creatively and academically for two consecutive years. She was voted as one of 60 most successful Arabic women and she was lately ranked 19 in a referendum about the 50 most influential personalities in Jordan.

This is also added to the credit of writer Khairy Hamdan, who is very active on the Arabic and Bulgarian cultural scene since he obtained his degree specializing in electronics from the University of Sofia. His writings include novels, drama, short stories, articles and opinions and he has won numerous national awards in Bulgaria. He also participated in many literary festivals in European capitals. His works include; “Alive in the World of Cancer”, European in the Lost Time”, “Mariamayn”, “Eye of the Storm”, Emancipation”, “Souls which Do Not Sleep” and the play “Who Listens to Me” as well as hundreds of works published on digital sites, daily and newspapers and periodicals.