The Sira is the most important epic poem of the Arab world. It consists of five million verses and contains timeless stories of war, love and peace. It’s as monumental as Homer’s Odyssey, and has been handed down orally across generations. Sira – Songs of the Crescent Moon follows the last living Sira interpreter, 75-year-old Egyptian Sayyed el-Dawwy, as he endeavours to teach his grandson Ramadan this important oral tradition. But el-Dawwy is illiterate, and so Ramadan must record his grandfather. Can the young man cope with his considerable legacy? And how will he face the challenge of making the Sira relevant to a generation of Egyptian Arabs who have no living cultural hero and who turn to more modern forms of media for entertainment and inspiration?