Wondrous journeys in strange lands

"In a tent at the foot of a mountain in Palestine, many years ago, our storyteller and her twin sister are born. Her parents name her Qamar or Moon, and her sister Shams, or Sun. Their tiny caravan is journeying from the mother's city back to the father's remote ancestral village atop the mountain. This village suffers from isolation, and from a mysterious curse -- females are no longer born there. When her parents try to break the spell, their lives are cut short, and Qamar and her sister are left to fend on their own. And so, Qamar decides to pursue her mother and father's dream of discovering the world -- its people and places. With the treasured book in hand that brought her parents together, she sets out on a daring journey, on caravans and ships, across empires"--Back cover.