Cairo: Silta – Ashraf Gaber
In a distinctive addition to Arab fantasy and speculative literature, Egyptian author Abeer Al-Attar has released her fourth novel, “Bride of the Catacombs” (Arous al-Saradeeb), published by Battana Publishing House. The cultural scene celebrated this new release at a signing and discussion event held on 27 November 2025, during which the author, together with critics and readers, explored the worlds of a work that opens a temporal gateway onto ancient Egypt.
Isadora: From Museum Relic to the Pulse of Fiction
The novel is grounded in a compelling historical fact dating back 2,000 years, centering on the figure of Isadora, often described as the first “martyr of love,” an aristocratic young woman who lived in the second century BCE in the city of Antinopolis (present-day Minya).
Al-Attar shows a profound fascination with Minya Governorate, its treasures, and its antiquities, and believes that this city possesses a depth of history that qualifies it for a far more prominent place on Egypt’s archaeological map than it currently holds.
The narrative resurrects the tragedy of her love for a modest Egyptian officer named Hapi, and her defiance of class boundaries through her nightly crossings of the Nile, journeys that ended in her drowning and her eternal rest as a mummy in the catacombs of Tuna el-Gebel. In this text, Al-Attar succeeds in freeing Isadora from the confines of a mere historical artifact, transforming her into a living voice and an emblem of female rebellion in search of light. The narration moves deftly between two-time layers, weaving together historical documentation of Upper Egypt’s geography with fantasy and magical realism, and raising profound questions about loyalty, loss, and immortality.
A Literary Project Blending Poetry and History
The novel can be classified within “travel and fantasy literature” and comes as a continuation of Abeer Al-Attar’s literary project, which began with poetry before evolving into fiction through her first novels “Pansée” (2018) and “A Soul Seduction” (Ghowayat Rouh) (2022).
This new work highlights the author’s ability to harness her poetic language to give voice to ancient Egyptian history and to craft gripping contemporary narratives, promising strong appeal among lovers of mystery and historical fiction. It is worth noting that novelist Abeer Al-Attar has published thirteen books spanning novels, poetry collections, short story collections, and prose texts, among them: “Pansée,” “Defining Moments,” “My Mirror’s Bet,” “Seduction of a Soul,” and “Lazurd.”