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At the turn of the first millennium a young man named Ghalib, the son of a poor tailor, had become a well to-do spice merchant. As fate would have it, he fell in love with a girl named Budour, the most beautiful maiden in Kathima.
Budour's father agreed to the marriage of Ghalib and his daughter on one condition: Ghalib must pay double the dowry another suitor had promised. Ghalib agreed, and in doing so he made a mortal enemy of Salim who had previously been promised to Budour.
Later that year, Ghalib steered his three ships into Aidhab on the coast of Egypt. The town was the country's main Red Sea port.
However, the vengeful Salim arrived before him and bribed the governor to bar Ghalib's entry. Not to be outdone Ghalib sailed North to a small hamlet. It was an unused natural bay said to be haunted by a fleet of ancient Pharonic ghost ships.
Undeterred, Ghalib arrived safely in the bay and in doing so cut almost a week off the established spice route to the Mediterranean. After his daring success other merchants began to use the bay. It was then that Ghalib decided to found a new port at this little known village.
Soon, Port Ghalib had a bustling harbour and Ghalib had enough money to pay the dowry and build his bride, Budour, a beautiful palace. Furious, the jealous Salim again mislead the governor of Aidhab and convinced him to attack Port Ghalib with armed ships. The situation was grim for the outnumbered merchants of Port Ghalib as the Aidhab fleet descended on them.
Suddenly, out of the mist, there appeared a ghost ship. A second ghost ship appeared a few moments later, then another, then ten more.
All the while the oarsmen of the ancient ships chanted in a tongue no one had heard before. Terrified, the Aidhab sailors hoisted their tall sails and sped away, never to return. And for next 500 hundred years Port Ghalib thrived and the Legend of Ghalib was woven into the tapestry of time, never to be forgotten.
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