Exiled to the past

Michel Garoudi never imagined that his lifelong passion for ancient civilizations would become the doorway that tore him from his own world. A brilliant yet restless archaeologist, fluent in the tongues of vanished empires, Michel was always chasing the echoes of history. His latest expedition to the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt was meant to crown his career until he stumbled upon a hidden burial chamber untouched by time. There, one misstep on a stone that glowed like fire hurled him across centuries, casting him into the heart of medieval Al-Andalus. Awakening near Córdoba in the year 982 AD, Michel finds himself stranded in an age of splendor and peril. It is the era of Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir—the formidable chamberlain who rules Al-Andalus with brilliance and iron will. The caliphate shines at its zenith, yet beneath the marble palaces and lush gardens, intrigue brews, and empires rise and fall with the stroke of a pen or the swing of a sword. Stripped of all that anchored him in the present, Michel must live as an exile—alone, unrecognized, and haunted by the possibility that he may never return. His modern knowledge of history, languages, and sciences becomes both his greatest weapon and his gravest liability. To scholars and wanderers he appears a sage; to rulers and priests he is a dangerous enigma whose very presence could alter the fate of kingdoms .Among those who walk beside him is Selene, a woman torn between duty to her homeland and fascination with the stranger who speaks as if he has read the future. Along with companions like Abu Saleh—the pragmatic traveler—and young Matthew, eager yet untested, Michel discovers that friendship and loyalty are the only anchors in a time of shifting sands. Together they traverse deserts, stand before thrones, and endure the trials of survival in an age where betrayal and faith clash at every turn. Yet for Michel, survival is not enough. Each decision he makes weaves him deeper into the political games of Córdoba, where whispers carry daggers sharper than steel. The libraries of the caliphate, bursting with knowledge long forgotten in his own time, tempt him with answers—and with terrible power. Should he share what he knows of the centuries to come? Should he remain silent and live as a shadow? Each choice carves a path through history, one that could either preserve the beauty of Al-Andalus or hasten its fall. But Michel's greatest battle is not against kings or armies—it is against time itself. Each moment spent in 982 pulls him deeper into a destiny he never chose. His memories of the modern world blur, replaced by the rhythms of an era that demands his allegiance. The more he intervenes, the more he realizes that history is not a fixed tale, but a fragile thread that may unravel with his every step. Exiled to the Past is not simply a tale of time travel, but a meditation on exile in its truest sense: exile from home, from self, and from certainty. It asks whether a man defined by knowledge can endure in a world where knowledge itself is both salvation and curse. It questions whether love can bridge centuries, or if the heart inevitably surrenders to the world in which it beats. From the bustling streets of Córdoba to the secret chambers of power, from the mosques and libraries that preserve the wisdom of ages to the battlefields that decide the fate of empires, the novel weaves history, mystery, and philosophy into one journey. Michel's exile is not simply a punishment—it is a test of how far a man can go to remain himself in a world that has long since passed. And as the past tightens its grip, Michel must face the most painful question of all: if the door to his own time were ever to open again, would he take it—or has 982 already claimed him forever? Beyond survival, Michel senses a truth: his exile may be fate'..