Fida Tefenkji

Fida Tefenkji

Fida Tefenkji ( _ar. فدا تفنكجي) is an Arabic princess.It has been debated whether her story is fairy tale or a true one, and what parts have been exaggerated with time. But recently some ancient manuscripts were found referring to an Arabic princess named Fida Tefenkji. She is known to have some Turkish ancestors and is believed to have ruled in what was known as Bilad_al-Sham _ar. بلاد الشام, which currently is the region delimited mainly by Lebanon, Syria and a part of Jordan.

Real story or just a fairy tale?

Fida was born in Beirut. She was the first child of her parents, the king Fahed and his queen Faten. The story tells that she showed signs of high intelligence and rare wisdom since her childhood. Under her father’s ruling the emirate was very prosperous, the people was happy, but this didn’t last long. By the age of 10, a war started and her family was forced to flee the country. She spent almost eight years in Aleppo _ar. حلب. Her father’s powers eventually increased to the point where he came back to the country and concluded his reign. The princess was now 18 years old, her beauty was renowned as well as her wisdom. She was well known for her kindness and all her people loved her. She had vowed to take care of the poor children and was always spending time with them.

Soon she reached the age to be married, and princes from all around visited the country trying their chances. She was kind with all of them but none made her heart beat.

She knew that she had to wait for that special person, and so did she.Until one day, she was walking on the beach, when a treacherous animal attacked her. With nobody in sight, she thought her final hours had come, but out of nowhere a young man killed the dragon (supposedly by the fairy tale) and took her to safety. When she regained consciousness, he had left and she couldn’t find him. The entire kingdom was eager to know the savior and thank him but alas he was gone.

She started to search for him and one day she came across a peasant that looked just like him. She didn't know what to do, she was lost. She understood now why he had left her before so quickly, it was love from the first sight and he didn't want to make her miserable. But it was truly love, and She felt in love with him, but her parents didn’t approve of him. She didn’t know what to do and was so lost. Her parents tried to get her with someone of her own ranking but she just couldn’t forget the peasant.

A year passed by and their love was growing, the peasant was very charming, and treated her very well. They were very fond of each other and all the country supporting them, except her parents. Eventually her parents acknowledged his efforts and saw his good character.

They got married that summer, had many children and lived a very long happy life. In her reign, the kingdom was even more prosperous, and people still remember her till these days.

Regions

* Lebanon
* Jordan
* Syria

References

* Levant history
* Aleppo
* Bilad_al-Sham