The Trees Are Still Standing
A Mediterranean Pendulum
The trees are still standing. Everything they witnessed is the story.
1491–2047
Seven novels asking how civilizations lose themselves — and what, if anything, remains. From the fall of Granada in 1491 to the wind turbines of Cap Bon in 2047, the trees have witnessed everything.
The Seven Novels
Seven novels. 456 years. One question. Each novel tracks one phase of the civilizational pendulum.
The Andalusian
Mustafa de Cárdenas (1609–1670)
Expelled from Spain in 1609, a 17-year-old Morisco arrives in Tunis and begins building institutions that will outlast empires — until they don't.
Three names. One lifetime: Cárdenas in Spain, al-Qardanesh in Tunis, al-Grombali in exile.
Timeline
- 1609 Expulsion from Spain
- 1613 Grombalia founded, olive grove planted
- 1654 Confiscation by Ḥammūda Bāšā Bey
- 1670 Muṣṭafā dies in Annaba exile
- 2026 Tayeb visits grove (Epilogue)
12 Chapters
40,830 words
Chapters
Chapter 1
The Expulsion
1609 • Baeza → Valencia → Pyrenees → Toulouse → Agde → Tunis
Chapter 2
The Tunis Arrival
1610-1612 • Tunis
Chapter 3
Here
1613 • Ras al-Tayeb (Grombalia)
Chapter 4
The Trees
c.1615 • Grombalia
Chapter 5
The First Years
1616-1621 • Zaghouan
Chapter 6
The Sheikh
1622-1654 • Tunis
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