While writing this book, my thyroid gland began to swell rapidly, to the point where it started to press on my windpipe, making breathing and sleep difficult. And I had hoped it would become a gentle liberation, but it turned into a medical emergency, I had to undergo a complete thyroidectomy». With full candor, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi walks the path of confession from beginning to end, recounting touching moments, about difficult hours, and beautiful at the same time. Among them are her feelings, dreams, and what was on her mind when UNESCO was discussing the file of Al-Mayaileh's accession to the World Heritage list, and after the success came the tears of joy: «I couldn't stop crying. They were not tears of pride or satisfaction alone, but the purest feeling I have ever known: gratitude, liberation, and love. Like a monk in an old sanctuary, I always find myself searching, reading, listening with my heart to the groan of folded times».The Ancestors' WhisperSheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, in her book, recently published by 'Ruwaiyat' in 367 pages, seeks not just a queen, but roots digging deep into authenticity, to listen to the whisper of ancestors and grandmothers. With every step in this narrative, the reader will discover what they didn't know about Sheikha Bodour: the anthropologist and archaeologist who feels the pulse of the good land of the Emirates and loves every grain of sand in it since she first visited Mayaileh specifically as a high school student preparing to study archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge University in 1995. She had to prepare a report on that enchanting spot, whose story later connected with her, turning it into a witness to history, not the history of the place, but of humanity, confirming: «The more I delved into Mayaileh, I realized it is not just a place to visit, but a place that calls to me, a place that preserves the memory of those who have passed, and embraces their voices in the silence of the wind and under the weight of ancient mountains. And their voices still whisper».With the eyes of an expert, enchanted by the place, Sheikha Bodour speaks in her book about the hidden treasures of Mayaileh, the thorns of Jebel Hafeet's mountains and plants we don't know. As for her, she knows the origin of the name Hafeet, its stone, and its bird—the white-collared kingfisher «which is not known to exist on earth except here and in two other places in northern Oman». And she wants the reader to know also about the samr trees and the gifts of the good earth, and the blessed tree of the desert. Thus, in the heights of Jebel Hafeet's mountains, this book was born, and its title, and the message she heard after she saw something resembling a Sumerian cemetery and heard the echo of the mountain and distant time: «Suddenly, without warning, a voice rose—not in my ears, but in the depths of my mind. 'Khalid taught me that there is beauty in breaking, and meaning in scattering. His presence whispered to me that nothing in this life is lost in vain—no pain, no confusion, no longing. Every moment is a revelation, every detail a step on the path'». With such sorrow, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, daughter of Sultan Al Qasimi, begins her story in her new book: 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh'. She sets out with a touch of loyalty to the departed, and remembers the unforgettable: her brother Sheikh Khalid 'who in his life and departure was a reminder to me that existence is nothing but a spiritual journey of remembrance and manifestation'.With high nobility and reconciliation with herself, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi places herself in her book. These are words from the heart, and there is no room for anything but sincerity. Pages written for the soul, not for quick reading. She wrote them like a prayer, a hymn, and a long poem that travels through the past and present, searching through fleeting spaces beyond time and place, and walking many paths with loyalty, purity, and clarity, to return to the hidden light that only needs to be awakened, and which this book's author strives for.The beautiful journey of Sheikha Bodour through 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh' is a gift for every reader, saving them the trouble of walking the path of life with love, hope, and reconciliation with the soul. She with an open heart, full of sincerity and devotion, presents her experiences and visions, and those from whom she draws strength to continue her journey, to weave the story of her 11 chapters with patient threads, summoning colors from different directions, so that in the end a painting is formed that expresses her, carrying her signature, and her very special imprint... the imprint of Bodour Al Qasimi which focuses on the dream, receiving it as an open door to luminous worlds, and seeing in myths more than just remnants of a bygone era and primitive minds.'Khalid's Memory'In 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh', you, the reader, are invited on a multi-faceted, multi-temporal journey. Your guide in it is Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, and prepare to begin with 'Khalid's Memory'. Here, the noble grief over the departed brother is complete satisfaction and submission from the very first word. Then prepare for a mountain ascent, from Kilimanjaro to the pyramids of Bosnia, and the peaks of Jebel Hafeet. And prepare also for a long stay in the spaces of Mayaileh, to walk slowly on its soft sands and feel the cool breeze under the light of stars and moonlit nights, to see the hidden beauty with the eye of imagination. And at some moment, you might feel an urge to turn the car key and head straight to that captivating place.And you, the reader—in the company of Sheikha Bodour—are due to meet forgotten queens, from Mavia to Zenobia and not ending with Balkis, and many other queens of Mayaileh, as well as ancestors in the guise of early saints. You will learn about them what you didn't know, and also about kind grandmothers who awaken the author and come to her in dreams, and appear vividly across pages where testimonies vary, scenes intermingle between reality and fiction, the personal and public life.And like bright banners on the road, sayings of people with good souls, the wise, philosophers, and dreaming poets from different epochs appear, to become a rosary whose beads shimmer. The author draws upon them, employing them during the rests of her journey, from 'Molana' Jalal al-Din Rumi, Shams al-Din Tabrizi, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, through Plato, Farid al-Din Attar, al-Junayd, Rabi'a al-Adawiyya, to Gibran Khalil Gibran and Lorca and Hermann Hesse.In addition, there are measured pauses with the lineage and blood coursing through the author's veins, from whom she inherited this passion for the land and history, and foremost her father, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah: «My father was not just a man of state and a ruler, but a thinker, a scholar in heritage and genealogy, a historian of his era—a weaver of truth and time, his books are inhabited by the echoes of civilizations and the whispers of forgotten souls. From him I inherited reverence for stories and an unceasing curiosity about the past. A thread extending from the memory of the soul, to those lost in the deserts of doubt, to those who hid their questions in the depths of their hearts».And just as Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi began her book with a note of loyalty, she ends it with a note of gratitude to those who deserve it. The last words are a love message, which will be known by whoever completes these beautiful stages with the dawn of the author, similar to Scheherazade who never tires of her stories, and her listener is filled with the wish that the night would lengthen, and that the rooster would not crow at dawn, so that the pages of 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh' would not end... A book that speaks the language of a sensitive soul and emotions, not just letters and words.'A Wise Reader's Testimony'With the eyes of a father and an experienced reader, and with wise words, His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, summarizes his experience of reading Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi's book 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh': 'Thank you so much for this solitude that took me away from my preoccupations to cross into another world, into the depths of history on a carpet of fantasy that approaches reality then leaves it. I was as if on a swing, lifting me to the sky, then descending me to the earth, then lifting me again to the sky, and returning me to the earth. Success to what you are aiming for: your father'.ThyroidectomyWithout a halo, and under a mere name on the cover, Bodour Al Qasimi bares herself in her book, recounting pivotal moments, with no purpose other than to inspire the reader and urge them to walk their path lightly, happy with life's gifts, and content with its trials, and the hours of hardship with the certainty that after them comes ease. And with a practical lesson, the author recounts: 'Over thirteen years, I suffered from an autoimmune disease known as Hashimoto's disease, which affects the thyroid gland... And as I delved deeper into the healing journey, I began to see this disease differently, not as a genetic flaw, but as a spiritual wound... And the writing of this book will in itself be a form of healing, and the confession of my story and their stories will be a path to my liberation. But healing rarely comes as we expect. I did not cry for myself, but because I felt them—they all thanked me... they surrounded me', as Sheikha Bodour was the 'conductor' and ambassador of this file, which required great efforts to accomplish, and to restore justice to the sands of Mayaileh and the ancestors who deserve eternity. And between multiple chapters, Sheikha Bodour moves in 'Tell them I am here... in search of Queen Mayaileh', revealing many realized dreams and visions she still strives for and will continue to: 'And so, in the end, it doesn't really matter if I found the queen's tomb or uncovered buried traces beneath the earth. What truly matters is that the journey revealed the heart itself—a heart that expanded to hold everything, and in which only love remained... This book is a testament to love'.
