Goha, Wisdoms and Follies from the Orient

There isn’t a single Arab who doesn’t know Goha. As young children, we were often told Goha anecdotes in the form of bedtime stories. Goha’s tales were equally broadcast in the form of plays, and we sometimes watched them as a series on television. Films and plays also existed based on the adventures of Goha.

The principal reason for Goha’s popularity lay, and still lies, in his personality: a good mixture of humour and fun, cleverness and cunning, spontaneity, but also naivety and simple- mindedness. I have selected 30 Goha tales and written them in simplified Egyptian Arabic, translated here into English as well, to provide learners of the Arabic language with authentic quality material.

At the end of each story, there are questions in English that the learner must first translate and then answer in Arabic.

At the back of the book, the learners will find the answer key with the translations and correct answers in Arabic to the questions. In order to make this book more user-friendly and efficient, the learner will find a list of vocabulary in English, Arabic and phonetic script to help pronunciation.

This book is targeted at beginners, who wish to learn the Arabic language at their own individual pace, and at more advanced students who wish to deepen their existing knowledge.