The earliest evidence of settlement in the area is a Neolithic site known as 'Ain Ghazal.Its successor was known as "Rabbath Ammon", which was the capital of the Ammonites, then as "Philadelphia", and finally as Amman.I grew up around horses but never had the chance to ride an Arabian.Faqir was born in Amman in 1956 and educated in Jordan and England.I was astounded by The Dead Sea, impressed by the underwater splendor in Aqaba and mesmerized by the magic of the desert stars in Wadi Rum.

I had the opportunity to visit the Arabian Horse Club of Amman and I have to admit it was pretty special.

She gained her BA in English Literature from the University of Jordan, Amman, before going in 1984 to Britain where she completed an MA in creative writing at Lancaster University. Her first novel, Nisanit, published by Penguin in 1988, is set in two undisclosed Middle East countries, and recounts the story of a young girl whose father is arrested because of his political activities, and a Palestinian guerrilla fighter captured by the Israeli forces.

The University of East Anglia awarded her the first Ph. Pillars of Salt, her second novel, was published by Quartet Books in 1996, and has been translated into German, Danish, Dutch, Romanian and Bulgarian.

The author blames both the patriarchy of her native land and the meddling of the British colonizer for the fates of both women.

In 2007, Faqir’s novel My Name is Salma (USA, Cry of the Do) was published by Doubleday.