The Tale of Alexandria and Cairo

This Hebrew rhymed-prose narrative, composed by the great Karaite poet Moses Dar‘ī, conveys some of the details of his life and provides crucial biographical information that helps situate this figure. Moses relates that his family originated in Drā‘, Morocco, before migrating eastward and settling in Alexandria, Egypt, where he was born. Moses remained proud of his Maghrebi roots and always considered himself to be a foreigner in Egypt. The end of this excerpt suggests that Dar‘ī adopted Karaism of his own accord; he would later become a semiofficial poet of the Karaite community in Fustāt (Old Cairo). Dar‘ī uses the biblical No-Amon (or just No) to refer to Alexandria, following Nahum 3:8, as was commonly done in Hebrew literary texts of the time. It is thought that he wrote this text early in his life.