Cyrillic version of Abu Dhabi font

Pehlevi is a Cyrillic version of Abu Dhabi font, stylized for Arabic alphabet. In Cyrillic, there is exactly one font of Arabic style, DS Arabic. This font is absolutely terrible and only suitable for shawarma tents.

Unfortunately, all "Arabic" signs in Russia are written with this font.

It is extremely difficult to repeat the Arabic script in other language. In Arabic, each letter has 3 variants: in the beginning, in the middle and in the end of words the same letter is written differently. In addition, Arabs peculiarly twist the inscriptions into shapes, they literally draw with words. This is why their writing is so beautiful and unique.

Pehlevi is visually superior to DS Arabic in every way and very close to the real Arabic. Take a look at the same phrase written in Arabic and in Russian with Pehlevi and DS Arabic. Which one is closer to the original?

Although the stylization does not reach the heights of Arabic calligraphy, Pehlevi font is the maximum that can be squeezed out of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Headlines from my travel stories to Iran and Saudi Arabia are written with Pehlevi font.

Pehlevi has a huge number of ligatures, i. e. predefined combinations of characters, thanks to which connected writing can be simulated.

To enable ligatures, in Photoshop call the Character window using the Window menu item. In this window, enable ligatures and select Russian language.

Ligatures do not take into account all combinations of letters. Where ligatures don't work, reduce the tracking between letters manually. For fine tune, place the cursor between the letters and set the distance to -60.

Pehlevi is distributed free of charge, you can use it for any purpose, from personal to commercial.

Keep in mind that this is a translation of the paid font Abu Dhabi. For commercial purposes, it is better to use only Cyrillic letters or purchase the original font.