As the morning sun shines on the Golden Gate Palace, brother and sister Hisham and Asma prepare for the journey of a lifetime. It is 791 CE, and the Abbasid Caliphate is at the height of its power, stretching from India to North Africa. With over half a million inhabitants, its capital city of Madinat al-Salaam, also known as Baghdad, is the largest in the Islamic Empire, possibly the world. And it's only 30 years old.

Asma and Hisham will leave at sunset for the hajj, the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Most people make the journey when they’re older and wealthier, but Hisham and Asma have wanted to make this journey together since they were children.

當晨曦照耀在金門宮殿上時， 希沙姆和阿斯瑪兄妹 正在為一生的旅程做準備。 此時是公元 791 年， 阿拔斯王朝正處鼎盛時期， 從印度一直延伸到北非。 Madīnat as-Salām （和平之城）的 首府擁有 50 多萬居民， 也被稱為巴格達， 是伊斯蘭帝國最大城市， 可能也是世界上最大的。 只有 30 年的歷史。 阿斯瑪和希沙姆將在日落時分出發(fā), 前往麥加朝圣。 多數人都在年紀稍大、更富裕的時候 才踏上這段旅程， 但希沙姆和阿斯瑪 從小就想一起踏上這段旅程。

They intend to travel with the big hajj caravan that is protected by the caliph soldiers. The caliph Al-Rashid himself is also traveling with the caravan this year. The hajj caravan is like a massive mobile city, with soldiers, cooks, doctors and merchants, servants and enslaved people. The journey is long, with dangers like disease, robbery, and dehydration. Because of these perils, Hisham and Asma want to travel with the larger group— but a last-minute mishap threatens to undo months of careful planning.

他們打算加入 由哈里發(fā)士兵保護的大型朝圣車隊， 哈里發(fā)拉希德（Al-Rashid）本人 今年也隨大篷車同行。 朝圣車隊就像一座巨大的移動城市， 有士兵、廚師、醫(yī)生和商人， 還有仆人和奴隸。 旅途漫長，充滿疾病、 搶劫和脫水等危險， 因此，希沙姆和阿斯瑪 想和更大的團隊一起旅行， 但最后一刻出現的意外 可能會破壞幾個月的精心計劃。

When the siblings visit the market to check on the supplies they’ve purchased, the merchant tells them one of their camels has fallen ill, and he doesn't have any replacements.

當這對兄妹去市場 檢查他們購買的物資時， 商人告訴他們， 他們的一只駱駝生病了， 而且他沒有備用駱駝。

Without the camel, the siblings won't be able to depart with the caravan. They search the marketplace, bustling with people from different ethnic backgrounds, such as Persians, Arabs, Turks, Africans, and Indians, and following different religions like Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism. The market sells everything from locally made pottery, Egyptian glass, and paper from Samarkand, to Chinese silk, gold from Africa, and fox fur from the distant north. But with the caravan leaving tonight, no one has a camel available.

沒有駱駝，這對兄弟姐妹 就無法和商隊一起啟程。 他們在集市上尋找， 那里擠滿了不同種族背景的人， 有波斯人、阿拉伯人、 土耳其人、非洲人、印度人等， 信仰也五花八門， 有伊斯蘭教、猶太教、 基督教和瑣羅亞斯德教等。 市場上有各種商品，從當地的陶器、 埃及玻璃、撒馬爾罕的紙張， 到中國絲綢、非洲黃金 和遙遠北方的狐皮。 但商隊今晚就要出發(fā)， 商人的駱駝都賣光了。

Though the hajj is primarily a religious journey, the siblings have other, personal hopes for it. Hisham and Asma come from a wealthy family and both had tutors as children.

雖然麥加朝圣主要是一次宗教之旅， 但兄妹倆還有其他私心。 希沙姆和阿斯瑪出生于富裕家庭， 小時候都有家庭教師。

Hisham is studying to become a scholar, progressing from Arabic grammar to Islamic law and Persian love poetry, then to Indian-inspired mathematics and Greek philosophy and medicine. With scholars from all over the empire traveling to Mecca and important intellectual centers on the way, the hajj is a great learning opportunity.

希沙姆讀書的目標是要成為學者， 從阿拉伯語法到伊斯蘭法律 和波斯愛情詩， 然后學印度數學、希臘哲學及醫(yī)學。 由于帝國各地的學者都會前往麥加， 再加上去麥加途經的重要知識中心， 朝圣是一個很好的學習機會。

Asma, meanwhile, has literary ambitions. As a woman, a life of formal scholarship is not available to her. Instead, she is honing her skills as a poet. She hopes to compose poetry about the journey that will catch the attention of important women in the city, and maybe even Queen Zubayda.

而阿斯瑪也有文學抱負， 作為一名女性，她無法 體驗正規(guī)的學術生活， 因此，她正在磨練自己的詩人技能， 希望創(chuàng)作以這次旅行為主題的詩歌， 以吸引城市中重要女性的注意， 甚至可能是女王祖巴伊達。

The siblings split up to search for a camel. Hisham heads toward the library complex to ask the scholars’ advice. An elderly scholar studying Galen and Hippocrates tells him how to treat a wound. An Aramaic translator from Damascus shares a list of useful herbs for upset stomach on the road. A Persian poet wants to share his latest poetry, but Hisham doesn’t see how that will get him the camel for tonight, so he kindly refuses. As he says goodbye, they give him the names of important theology scholars to visit in Medina, on the way to Mecca. But to get there, he’ll need a camel.

兄妹分頭去找駱駝， 希沙姆走向圖書館大樓， 向學者們尋求建議。 一位研究蓋倫和希波克拉底的老學者 告訴他如何治療傷口； 來自大馬士革的阿拉姆語翻譯 分享了一份有用的草藥清單， 用于治療旅途中的胃部不適； 一位波斯詩人想分享他最新的詩歌， 但希沙姆覺得無助于今晚找駱駝， 所以他婉拒了。 告別時，他們提供了麥地那的 一些重要神學學者的名字， 以便他在麥加朝圣路上去拜訪。 但要去那里，他需要一頭駱駝。

Meanwhile, Asma visits an older, married cousin. An enslaved girl opens the door, and takes Asma to the women’s quarters, where men cannot enter. Her cousin wants to hear Asma’s latest poetry, but Asma tells her she’s in a hurry and explains their predicament. She’s in luck— her cousin’s husband has a camel to offer them.

與此同時，阿斯瑪拜訪了 一位年長的已婚表姐。 一位女奴打開門， 把阿斯瑪帶到女人們的居所， 那里男性禁入。 表姐想聽阿斯瑪的最新詩歌， 但阿斯瑪告訴她自己趕時間， 并解釋了他們的困境。 她很幸運，因為表姐的丈夫 可以送給他們一頭駱駝。

With their arrangements secure at last, they make their final preparations. At the designated times for men and women, each performs a ritual ablution at one of Baghdad’s many public bathhouses.

終于安排妥當后， 他們開始做最后的準備。 在指定的時間，男人和女人 都要在巴格達眾多 公共澡堂之一進行洗禮。

As the sun sets, the city’s criers announce the caravan’s departure, and the townspeople flock to watch the pilgrims leave.

太陽落山時，城市的廣播員 宣布商隊離開， 鎮(zhèn)上的人成群結隊地 目送朝圣者離開。