A LEVANTINE EXPRESSION FRIDAY (ALEF) #03:

من فوق الاساطيح

TRANSLITERATION:

men fawq el asaaTih

mEANING:

Literally: from above the rooftops

Figuratively: to do something secretly or illegally without anyone knowing

EXPLANATION & Examples:

The two examples below show the literal usage of the expression.

هو بحب يرقص من فوق الاساطيح

huwe beheb yor2os men fawq el asaaTih

He likes to dance on rooftops

 انا عم طير الطيارة الورقية من فوق الاساطيح

ana 3am Tiir etTayaarah elwaraa2iiye men fawq el asaaTih

I am flying the paper airplanes from the top of the rooftop

Okay, pretty straight-forward.

Now, the figurative usage of the expression can be used in a variety of contexts.

But the general idea is describing an action that is being done stealthily or not in a straightforward manner.

This is because instead of knocking on the door to enter the house, the person is trying to sneak into the house via the rooftop.

For example, in this scene from the Syrian series, Ghadan Naltaqi…

At 00:38, the guy is telling the other guy…

أخي . ما عندك غير طريقين . يا فيزا من فوق الأساطيح , يا بتركبلي بهالبحر وانت وحظك

akhi, ma 3indak ghair Tareeqein. Ya Visa men fawq el asaaTih, ya bterkebli bi hal bahr uu enta uu hazak

Brother, you only got two options. Either you get yourself a visa illegally or you try your luck traveling by sea (you ride the sea together with your luck)

In this situation, since getting a visa is a not an easy process, the man is advising his friend to get the visa through illegal means, secretly, without anyone knowing – thus getting the visa “from above the rooftops”.

Here is another example.

Your and your friend are sitting in different rooms and she is trying to talk to you by shouting across the room.

You cannot hear her properly so you shout back:

 تعالي لعندي ليش عم تحكي من فوق الاساطيح؟

ta3ali la 3indi leish 3am tahki men fawq el asaaTih?

Come to me, why are you talking “from above the rooftops”?

So in this situation, your friend is talking to you “from above the rooftops” because of the indirect manner of communication.

Instead of coming to your room and talk to you, she’s shouting across the room.

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