The grandmother tells Mariam and her sister Noor a story about a red dragon that swallows the sun, but it never reaches its end. Mariam and Noor eagerly await the end of the story until one day Sulaiman, the bully boy, tries to steal the astrolabe from their father’s workshop. Since Mariam is fascinated by astronomy and stars, she uses the story of the red dragon and her knowledge in sun and moon tracking to predict Sulaiman’s actions and prevent him from stealing the astrolabe.
The story is fictional but woven against the historical background of the figure of the scientist Mariam Al-Asturlabiyya, who developed the astrolabe and laid the foundation for the GPS navigation system we currently use.
For discussion:
– What is the meaning of a legend?
– Where is Aleppo located, and what are its most famous landmarks? With reference to the Aleppo Citadel during the Hamdanid dynasty.
– Why does a solar eclipse occur?
– What happens to animals during a solar eclipse?
– What are the instruments that Muslims use for navigation?
– How did Mariam manage to determine the timing of the eclipse?
