Age of Arabic | A first-person quest through the Golden Age

A world to discover

بَيْتُ الحِكْمَة

Halls of learning

Wander libraries and observatories where scholars once translated the world's knowledge.

السُّوق

Bustling souks

Bargain with merchants, read their signs and pick up the words you need to trade.

الخَطّ

Scripts and secrets

Decode letters, calligraphy and inscriptions to unlock doors and hidden paths.

الرِّحْلَة

Culture and journeys

Travel caravan routes and discover the art, science and stories of the era.

Featured quest

The Merchant's Path

مِنَ السُّوقِ إِلَى العَالَم

Carry a copy of al-Dimashqī's guide to the merits of commerce into the great souk. Learn to tell good goods from bad, spot a dishonest trader, and haggle your way from a single sample to a caravan bound for distant ports, all in Arabic.

بَحْثResearch
مُقَارَنَةCompare
مُسَاوَمَةHaggle
عَيِّنَةSample
جُمْلَةBuy in bulk
شَحْنShip

بِكَمْ هٰذَا؟How much is this?

هَلْ لِي أَنْ أَرَى عَيِّنَةً؟May I see a sample?

مَا آخِرُ سِعْرٍ؟What's your final price?

وَإِنْ أَخَذْتُ كَمِّيَّةً؟And if I take a quantity?

Unlock a stall of your own: serve customers behind the counter for an hour, and keep a merchant's ledger of every sale.

Choose your path

Every quest is guided by a real book from the Golden Age. Master one craft, then cross into the next.

العُلُومSciences of the stars and the flask

عِلْمُ الفَلَك

Astronomy

Climb the observatory, wield an astrolabe and learn the Arabic names that still shine in our star maps.

Guide: al-Ṣūfī, Book of the Fixed Stars · al-Farghānī

الكِيمِيَاء

Alchemy

Weigh, filter and distil in al-Rāzī's laboratory, turning matter and words into meaning.

Guide: al-Rāzī, The Book of Secrets

العِطْر

Perfumery

Gather jasmine, musk and amber and blend them by al-Kindī's own recipes, from flower to flask.

Guide: al-Kindī, The Chemistry of Perfume and Distillations

الفَلْسَفَة

The Philosophers' Road

Follow young Ibn Sīnā from al-Kindī to al-Fārābī as he unlocks the secrets of Aristotle.

Guide: al-Kindī · al-Fārābī · Ibn Sīnā

الفُنُونArts of the pen, the oud and the heart

الخَطّ

Calligraphy

Cut a reed pen, measure letters by the dot and the alif, and copy like the masters of Baghdad.

Guide: Ibn al-Bawwāb, Ode on Calligraphy · Ibn Muqla

المُوسِيقَى

Music

Tune the oud, find the maqām and learn the language of rhythm in a lamplit majlis.

Guide: al-Fārābī, The Great Book of Music

الرَّقْص وَالحَرَكَة

Dance and Movement

Move to the daff at a celebration and learn the words of rhythm, ritual and joy.

Guide: Ibn al-Ṭaḥḥān, Ḥāwī al-Funūn

الحُبّ وَالشِّعْر

Love and Poetry

Trade verses and letters at court and learn the refined customs of affection and gifts.

Guide: Ibn Ḥazm, The Ring of the Dove · Ibn Dāwūd · al-Washshāʾ

الفُرُوسِيَّةWays of the knight

الرَّمْي

Archery

String the bow, nock, draw and release on command, with focus and discipline.

Guide: Ṭaybughā, The Sufficiency of Students in Archery

المُبَارَزَة

Swordsmanship

Learn stance, distance and courtesy of the blade through Arabic command and response.

Guide: Ibn Hudhayl, Adornment of Horsemen

الخَيْل

Horsemanship

Groom, saddle and ride, and win the trust of your horse in its own vocabulary.

Guide: Ibn Akhī Ḥizām, Book of Horsemanship

الفُتُوَّة

Futuwwa

Join a brotherhood of noble craftsmen and traders, where generosity and honour are the rules.

Guide: al-Sulamī, Kitāb al-Futuwwa

المَدِينَةLife in the city

التِّجَارَة

Trade

Haggle in the souk and send your caravan to distant ports. See The Merchant's Path above.

Guide: al-Dimashqī, The Merits of Commerce

التَّفَاوُض

Negotiation and Diplomacy

Carry letters between rulers and find the words that turn rivals into allies.

Guide: al-Qalqashandī, Ṣubḥ al-Aʿshā · Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ

الطَّبْخ

Cooking

Shop the market, cook from Baghdad's oldest cookbook and serve your guests with grace.

Guide: Ibn Sayyār al-Warrāq, The Book of Dishes

How you play

١
Enter the city. Explore in first person, no Arabic needed to begin.
٢
Learn by doing. Each quest teaches letters, words and phrases you use straight away to talk, read and solve puzzles.
٣
Rise through the ages. Your Arabic grows as you go, opening new places, characters and stories.

Join the quest

Age of Arabic is in the making. Email us to hear first when the gates open.

Email [email protected]

Step into the Age of Arabic.