Moses' Cross

Author: Haitham Dabour

"And why all these prohibitions? Weren't most of the Lord's Ten Commandments to His spokesman Moses prohibitions? Eight, to be exact. Didn't He do it with Adam and Eve concerning His blessed tree? Prohibitions always precede commands and are more important, for in their transgression lies crime, defect, or disobedience. As for a forgotten command, its non-observance causes less harm, and a sin that can be atoned for or remedied." On a snowy December night, "Bahaa," a thirty-year-old photographer with a long history with Saint Catherine's Monastery, is summoned to investigate the mysterious death of the Greek monk "Pavlos," who was responsible for the monastery's library and its rare manuscripts. With the help of the Bedouin Abu Omran and the monastery's rare documents, "Bahaa" uncovers many dangerous secrets.


Through these stories, the writer's delicacy in capturing moments when masks fall is evident. Here, we don't look for superheroes, but rather live with people just like us; with "Mukhtar" who fears retirement, with the mother who battles her fears in the dark for her little ones, and with the wonder of a child seeing the sea for the first time and forgetting the world.
In "Man of Clay," the marginalized becomes a hero, and fleeting pain transforms into lasting wisdom. These are texts that do not merely tell stories, but delve into the depths of human fragility to extract a true treasure: our astonishing ability to find beauty and companionship in the most unexpected places.