Ghada al-Samman

Ghadah Al-Samman
Native name	غادة السمّان
Born	1942 (age 81–82) Damascus, Syria.
Occupation	Novelist, journalist
Language	Arabic, English, French
Notable works	No Sea in Beirut The Departure of Old Ports Beirut Nightmares

Ghadah Al-Samman (Arabic: غادة السمّان; born 1942) is a Syrian writer, journalist and novelist born in Damascus in 1942 to a prominent and conservative Damascene family.^[1] Her father was Ahmed Al-Samman,^[2] a president of the University of Damascus. She is distantly related to poet Nizar Qabbani, and was deeply influenced by him after her mother died at a very young age.^{[citation needed]}