I am Abd Allah ibn Yafar, tanner of Balansiya.

I was born 20 years ago in the suburban slum Roteros in Balansiya. Since I can remember I have only ever known the oppression of Christian mercenaries and submission of our weak rulers. I have seen the most terrible atrocities. During the siege of Rodrigo Díaz hunger was rampant, the city and people scrambled for cats, dogs and rats. The dead are piling up in the streets and we have to dig mass graves next to the Alcázar, where my brother now lies. Meanwhile, Ibn Yahhaf and his officers, unfortunately powerless, had to surrender the city. I have a daughter two years old and the only hope I have left for her is to flee to another medina to the south or trust the almoravids to drive out the Christian oppressors.