Morning and Evening Talk Part 7

"They are all for Sa'd."

"Publicize your political affiliation so as many people as possible know."

"Our nephews, Amr and Surur, support Sa'd too."

"They don't have anything at stake. The games are over. Don't imagine the English will leave Egypt. And don't imagine Egypt can survive without the English."

In return for pledging allegiance to the Crown, he and his brother were awarded the rank of bey. "Now the Dawud family must admit rank isn't restricted to them alone...." he said to Ahmad. However, a revolution of another kind flared up in the family, this one led by his nephew Adnan. The family, both men and women, split into two rival factions. Opponents savored its misfortune while friends, like Amr and Rashwana, were sad. Even Surur said, "A curse has befallen that d.a.m.ned family."

They were not reunited until Ahmad's death, a few months after which Mahmud developed serious diabetes. Amr and Surur had pa.s.sed away by this time and a melancholy compounded by the illness settled in Mahmud's heart. His determination flagged and he withdrew from the business. He spent most of his time in the mansion on Khayrat Square until a heart attack seized him one morning and he died. Nazli Hanem joined him two years later and Fawziya Hanem died in the same year. Only those destined for extra long life from that generation, like Radia, Abd al-Azim Pasha, and Baligh, remained; they were the ones whose lives stretched until the July Revolution.

Matariya Amr Aziz.

She was born and grew up in Bayt al-Qadi, the third child of Amr and Radia. With her pretty face, slender figure, and amiability she most resembled Sadiqa, the aunt who committed suicide. She was also the most beautiful of the sisters, and quite possibly of all the girls in the family. Though she came into maturity in an atmosphere of religion and mysticism, she did not a.s.similate their underlying significance and believed that loving G.o.d and His messenger exempted her from religious duties. Her exquisite beauty stirred jealousy in her sisters' hearts, but as events unfolded this turned to pity. In her childhood and early teens, she was known for grace and mirth and for loving generously and being loved in return; not a woman or girl in Surur, Ata, or Abd al-Azim's families escaped her charm. Yet none of this could intercede on her behalf when her charm enticed a young man like Lutfi Abd al-Azim to contemplate marrying her, for charm too is limited by cla.s.s consciousness. The first happy experience in her life thus became an emotional trial that immolated her tender heart and injured her pride. Her pain was slightly eased by the blaze of anger that flared up around her in her and her family's defense, as it was by the fact that she had not revealed her feelings. The battle thus turned on pride, then fell into the age-old chasm of tradition.

Not long after, a friend whom her mother had met at the tomb of Sidi Yahya ibn Uqab came with a proposal. Her mother regarded the location of their first meeting as a good omen and judged the woman, who lived not far away in the quarter of Watawit, to be a good person. The bridegroom-Muhammad Ibrahim-was a teacher at the Umm Ghulam School and in terms of diploma and profession was Amer's equal. Matariya saw him through the gap in the mashrabiya and was attracted to his wheat-colored face, plump body, and the pipe he smoked like the English. She was wedded to him in the house his mother owned in Watawit. Through good fortune, Matariya won her mother-in-law's heart, and enjoyed a bond of true love with her husband until the day he died. Year upon year radiated with happiness and harmony, and she gave birth to Ahmad, Shazli, and Amana-all three satellites of purity and grace. People were right to consider the house in Watawit among the happiest, in the true sense of the word. Muhammad Ibrahim was the second man to join Amr's family after Hamada al-Qinawi but he was urbane, gentle natured, cultured, and had a diverse library. His prim conversation and Hamada's chatter and groundless conceit could not have been more different. Muhammad found it impossible to genuinely make friends with Hamada but was very amiable with him in deference to Sadriya, whom he admired and whose virtues as a housewife had not escaped his notice. Those happy years would remain in Matariya's heart forever; the minutiae of daily life, the warmth of her husband's love, her mother-in-law's compa.s.sion and patience, the children with their bright promise. Then came the first blow of fate; Ahmad died in his fifth year. Matariya tasted the pain and profound sadness of a bereaved mother. Part of her throbbing heart, and the scent of her bereft spirit, began dwelling in the grave that spread in a swathe of new emotions before her tearful eyes. She loved Qasim all the more when she saw how inconsolable he was at the loss of her young son. She focused her wounded motherly love on Shazli and Amana, though her heart did not rejoice as she had hoped it would with their marriages. Her mother-in-law died in the 1930s, loading her with a burden to which she was not accustomed, and she mourned the death of her own father shortly before the Second World War and her uncle Surur's a few years later. She truly suffered for her strong attachment to her family. She regarded Shazli's marriage as a grave disappointment and considered it part of her bad luck.

"It's not as bad as you think," said Muhammad Ibrahim.

"He deserves a better bride," she complained.

"He knows best what makes him happy," said the man.

She followed Amana's success at school with satisfaction and hope. Then her beloved husband unexpectedly developed cirrhosis of the liver and was confined to his bed. His health deteriorated and he died in the summer holiday after Amana had pa.s.sed the baccalaureate. Matariya met the harshest blow of fate yet and found herself a widow before fifty. Amana was forced to marry Abd al-Rahman Amin while Matariya stayed on in the house in Watawit with her maid, lonely and sad. Her worries were compounded by the troubles her daughter encountered in her marriage. She would console herself by visiting relatives-her mother, sisters, brothers, cousins, the families of Ata and Abd al-Azim, and, first and foremost, Shazli and Amana. She began to wither. Her features changed, though her unique quality-the love she gave and received from the family and people in general-remained. She was probably the only person in the family not to sever relations with her brother Hamid's wife, Shakira, after the couple separated in divorce. How she grieved over the premature deaths of Shazli's children! While Shazli's son, Muhammad, was still warding off his fate, she invoked G.o.d to preserve him for the sake of his father and herself, and entreated her mother, Radia, to shield him using whatever means. News of his martyrdom in the Tripart.i.te Aggression came as the final blow. She withered even more.

It became clear she was suffering from cancer. Her health declined, going from bad to worse, until she died in her sixties. She was the first of the second generation in Amr's family, or rather the whole family, to pa.s.s away. Circ.u.mstances dictated that those closest to her did not mourn her as they might have; Shazli's sadness over his children did not leave much room for mourning, Radia was in her eighties and the grief of an octogenarian is short-lived, and Qasim lived in a neutral state of sadness and joy. Amana did not find anyone with whom to weep and strike her face in despair.

Mu'awiya al-Qalyubi.

He was born and grew up in the house in Suq al-Zalat. His upbringing was purely religious and he took on his father's learning and manners even before they were together at al-Azhar. He displayed n.o.bility and talent, with a particular fondness for grammar, which he taught at al-Azhar after obtaining his religious diploma. A few months before Mu'awiya's father died, he married his son to Galila al-Tarabishi, the daughter of Salman al-Tarabishi, who worked at a factory making tarbooshes for pashas. Mu'awiya took part in activities in the mosques around the quarter, which won his father-in-law's love and respect. Galila was taller than him, eccentric, high-strung, and full of popular superst.i.tions. He was determined to teach her the true principles of her religion and a long but amicable struggle broke out between them. He gave to her and took from her. When he was sick he would surrender readily to her folk medicine. Her reputation spread around the quarter until it almost eclipsed his own. They were bound by love and, thanks to this, their marriage endured despite Galila's irascible nature and fanatical ideas. As the days pa.s.sed, she gave birth to Radia, Shahira, Sadiqa, and Baligh.

When the Urabi Revolution came, the shaykh was full of enthusiasm. He was drawn to its current and supported it with heart and tongue. When it failed and the English occupied Egypt, he was one of many arrested and tried and was sentenced to five years in prison. Galila toured the tombs of saints invoking evil upon the khedive and the English. She managed the family with some money she had inherited from her father. Shaykh Mu'awiya left jail to find a changed world. No one remembered the revolution or any of its men, and if names were mentioned they were accompanied by curses. He found no sympathy except in the eyes of his old friend Yazid al-Misri, the watchman of Bayn al-Qasrayn's public fountain. He felt like an outsider. He was sad and kept to himself until he found a teaching post in a state school.

One day his friend Aziz said to him, "My son Amr works at the ministry of education. He's twenty and I want him to get married."

The shaykh grasped what Aziz was driving at and said, "By G.o.d's blessing."

"It's in your hands, with G.o.d's permission, and from your house," said Aziz.

"Radia my daughter and Amr my son!" said the shaykh.

Ni'ma Ata and her daughter, Rashwana, went to court Radia. They returned dazzled by Sadiqa's beauty and satisfied with Radia's good looks and lofty demeanor. Even so, Ni'ma asked, "Is she taller than Amr?"

"Not at all, mother. He's taller," said Rashwana rea.s.suringly.

However, time overtook the shaykh before he could witness his daughter's wedding. The bridal hamper arrived by coincidence on the day he died, prompting Galila, with her individual interpretation of her heritage, to release a stream of ululation from the window then resume wailing for her dear deceased, which the quarter joked about for the rest of her life. The shaykh was buried in an enclosure nearby Aziz's own in the vicinity of Sidi Nagm al-Din.

Nadir Arif al-Minyawi.

HE WAS BORN AND GREW UP IN DARB AL-AHMAR, the only son of Habiba Amr and Shaykh Arif al-Minyawi. He had no memory of his father but grew up in the abundant tender love of his mother and paternal grandmother. His grandmother died when he was six, but he found in the affection of Amr, Radia, and the rest of the family a way to forget he was a lonely orphan. It was perhaps fortunate that he yearned for success and was carried away by ambition from childhood. Yet he never appreciated the insane sacrifice his mother made on his behalf in refusing an excellent marriage proposal and remaining a widow for the rest of her life, after only two years married to his father.

Nadir grew into a handsome and fine young man and no period of his life was devoid of romantic adventures within his limited means. He obtained the baccalaureate in commerce during the First World War and found work in the Treasury. He despised his poverty and was always looking for a better future. To this end, he enrolled at an inst.i.tute teaching English, mastered the art of typing, and put himself forward for an exam advertised by an English metal company. He was successful, so he quit the civil service to work for the company's accounts department. The move frightened his maternal aunts and uncles, cousins, and mother, but he said with a confidence unknown in the family, "There's no future in government employment."

His finances improved but his ambition was not sated. As an ambitious young man dreaming of fortune he was uncomfortable with the course of the July Revolution. His fears were realized after the Tripart.i.te Aggression and the impounding of British companies, at which point he reluctantly found himself a civil servant once more. He studied the situation in his family and its branches in the light of the revolution's new reality. He found representatives of the revolution, like Abduh Mahmud, Mahir Mahmud, and his cousin Hakim, in the families of Ata al-Murakibi and Aunt Samira, and secretly made up his mind to marry either Abduh and Mahir's sister Nadira or Hakim's sister Hanuma. He consulted his mother, who said, "Hanuma's closer to us and prettier." At his suggestion she proposed to her on his behalf. Hanuma was a radio broadcaster with strong principles and a similar nature to her brother Salim. She had refused the hand of her cousin Aql, but agreed to marry Nadir. The wedding was held in an apartment on Hasan Sabri Street in Zamalek. Nadir urged his mother to come and live with him, but she refused to leave Darb al-Ahmar or move away from the blessed old quarter, where her dear mother and many of her sisters and uncle's daughters lived. The new family was blessed with happiness and Hanuma gave birth to three daughters, Samira, Radia, and Safa. Relations between Nadir and Hakim strengthened and, thanks to Hakim, Nadir was promoted to Head of Accounts. His salary increased beyond the dreams of his other civil servant relatives but his ambition knew no limits. With nationalization, he was appointed Chairman of Company Administration but still was not satisfied. "What more do you want?" Hanuma asked him.

"I don't like fixed salaries," he replied ambiguously.

"I don't mind wealth so long as it's combined with purity," Hanuma said with clarity.

He noticed a look of fear in her eyes and said quickly, "Of course."

He sensed the partner of his life was not partner to his ambition. He believed deep down that the only difference between people inside and outside jail was luck, not nature or principles, and that mankind was a wretched bunch from which only the shrewd and strong escaped. He regarded his wife as an extension of the foolish general att.i.tudes he had to flatter if he wanted to realize his ambition. He began consolidating relations with certain officers and men in the private sector until June 5, when they were all exposed. He was satisfied to be simply pensioned off, again thanks to Hakim, but Hanuma raised a storm that culminated in divorce.

"You're only responsible for yourself," Samira a.s.sured Hanuma with her usual calm.

"But I can't just shut my eyes and destroy everything my life is built on," the young woman replied fiercely.

Hanuma kept the apartment and their daughters while Nadir began to live between hotels and Darb al-Ahmar, explaining the divorce to his innocent mother in terms of a disagreement that ruined the marriage. When the situation changed and the first indications of the infitah policy appeared he began to breathe once more. He derived from this unexpected situation a life he had never before dreamed of. He busied himself determinedly with imports and finally realized the dream he had entertained since childhood. The world spread out before him at home and abroad. On one of his journeys he met an Australian widow, married her, and moved in with her in a villa in al-Ma'adi. He would often laugh and say, "It's my rightful share; fortune is for the strong, morality for the weak."

Nadira Mahmud Ata al-Murakibi.

She was the fourth child of Mahmud Bey Ata. She was born and grew up in the mansion on Khayrat Square in an environment steeped in splendor and comfort. She was nice looking but less so than her brothers. She was similar in nature, principles, and piety to her older sister, Shakira, and very compliant and gentle too. She had a sharp mind and loved school. Her father, having been conquered by current trends, did not object to her continuing her education. Her childhood happiness was crowned by the love that united her with her cousin Mazin. He was her knight in shining armor from adolescence until the day he died, or rather all her life. She loved him like nothing else in the world and pinned all her dreams, happiness, and hope on him. How she fretted over the quarrel that rent the family! How she feared its implications for her happiness and aspirations! "Papa is too angry," she said to her mother.

Their bond was not severed through the many years of dispute. Meanwhile, she pa.s.sed the baccalaureate and enrolled at the faculty of medicine. Then came the disaster in which Mazin perished. He vanished from her world and she virtually went mad with grief, or rather anger. She spent a year in the mansion, prisoner to depression, then continued her studies with a hardened heart, set on renouncing the world. She emerged from that period with two bitter experiences: the death of her beloved and her sister's disappointing marriage. She applied all her energy to work, solitude, and religious readings. Good opportunities to marry came her way but she instinctively thought the worst and hated the idea of married life. She specialized in pediatric medicine, took a doctorate, and was more and more successful every day. She paid no attention to her brothers' advice to reconsider marriage and persisted with her work, solitude, and piety until the train left her behind, unapologetic, registered in the sad world as a unique, unrepeatable ent.i.ty. Shakira, Abduh, Nadira, and Mahir a.s.sembled in the mansion in old age, as they had done at the start of their lives, living examples of success and failure.

Ni'ma Ata al-Murakibi.

Ata al-Murakibi and Sakina Gal'ad al-Mughawiri's daughter, she was born and grew up in the house in al-Ghuriya. She inherited her mother's wide eyes and copious black hair together with good health, which her mother had not known. When Yazid al-Misri decided to arrange a marriage for his son Aziz, she fulfilled the criteria: chaste, beautiful, and the daughter of his neighbor and friend, Ata al-Murakibi. Ni'ma was wedded to Aziz and moved to a different floor of the same house in al-Ghuriya. She was a good example of a sensible, economizing, and obedient wife and gave birth to Rashwana, Amr, and Surur. Her father's marriage to the rich widow came as a shock. She watched bewildered as he climbed into a different cla.s.s. She visited the new mansion on Khayrat Square and the farm in Beni Suef and was utterly dazzled by what she saw; she could not believe her eyes. She antic.i.p.ated a shower of charity but was disappointed, for, with the exception of a few gifts on festivals, the man was tight-fisted, as though she were not his daughter or Mahmud and Ahmad's older sister. "He's a miser. He holds back his prosperity," said Aziz.

She defended her father despite some resentment, "No. He's just afraid the lady will accuse him of squandering her fortune!"

She was G.o.d-fearing but nevertheless hoped the widow would depart for the Hereafter before her father so she could inherit and bequeath some of the money to help Rashwana, Amr, and Surur in their lives. But the man died a short while before his wife, frustrating her hopes in death as he had in life. In the end, the fact that her two brothers, Mahmud and Ahmad, interacted with her and her children and were dutiful to them made her forget her sorrows. She reciprocated their love until the end of her life. She lived to delight in her grandchildren and departed the world two years after Aziz.

Nihad Hamada al-Qinawi.

The first child of Sadriya and Hamada al-Qinawi, she was born and grew up in Khan Ga'far. She was cheerful in Bayt al-Qadi as a child and enjoyed special favor with Amr and Radia as the first grandchild. She was moderately pretty and received a small measure of education, which she soon forgot. When she was nearly fifteen, a middle-aged village mayor, a relative of her father, asked to marry her. Her father welcomed him enthusiastically and Sadriya realized with profound sorrow that she was to be separated from her daughter forevermore, that she would only see her on special occasions, and that from now on her daughter's roots would be in Upper Egypt.

Nihad acclimatized to her new surroundings, adopted new mannerisms, and took on a new dialect. She bore the village mayor ten children, half of them boys, the other half girls. Whenever she visited Cairo as a stranger, eyes would gaze at her curiously, for she was the picture of a typical village mayor's wife with her vast body and gold jewelry covering arms and neck. But she was the kind of stranger who provoked laughter.

Hanuma Hussein Qabil.

THE YOUNGEST DAUGHTER OF SAMIRA and Hussein Qabil, she was born and grew up in the house on Ibn Khaldun Street. Her beauty was like her mother's and she was tall, slim, and intelligent, had firmly held morals and principles, and was very similar to her younger brother, Salim. She excelled at school and enrolled in the French language department of the faculty of arts. She was enthusiastic about the July Revolution as a movement for reform and morality but changed her mind when it sentenced Salim to jail and did not hesitate to criticize Hakim for supporting it. She graduated from college and went into radio, thanks to her good results on the one hand, and Hakim's recommendation on the other. Sadriya's son Aql wanted to marry her but she rejected him on account of her height and his shortness. "We would make a ridiculous sight walking down the street together," she told her mother. She agreed to marry Nadir, for he had a good job, was good looking, and she thought highly of his morals. They lived their life together in an elegant apartment on Hasan Sabri Street in Zamalek and she gave birth to Samira, Radia, and Safa. When his deviation came to light, she raised a violent storm, which Nadir had not expected from his life partner. She told him frankly, "I refuse to go on living with a man who has clearly gone astray." Samira hated the idea of divorce and tried to convince her that it was not her responsibility, that she must weigh up the consequences of her decision for her daughters. But she said to her mother, "He is diminished in my opinion and there's nothing I can do about it."

The dispute thus ended in divorce. Hanuma kept the daughters with her in the apartment in Zamalek and brought them up in her image without once regretting her harsh decision. The days went by and the time came for the girls to marry. However, rising costs and the problem of obtaining an apartment made marriage complicated. Nadir overcame all the difficulties by buying an apartment for each daughter and properly furnishing them. "He's their father and he's responsible for them," Hanuma said to console herself.

But she could not ignore the bitter truth that, were it not for his unlawful money, it would have been hard for any of the daughters to settle in a marital home. She asked herself with deep regret, Isn't it possible to lead a respectable life anymore?

Wahida Hamid Amr.

THE FIRST CHILD OF HAMID AND SHAKIRA, she was born and grew up in the mansion on Khayrat Square and played through childhood in its vast lush garden. From childhood, it was clear she was intelligent, moderately pretty, and had a cheerful soul, which the winds of misfortune would destroy. From early life, melancholy permeated her heart amid the soured climate of her parents' marriage. She absorbed her mother's constant afflictions until an aversion to her father settled inside her. Her brother, Salih, offered no comfort with his bluntness and pursuit of people for their sins, as though he was their reckoner. Then came the split between her grandfather Mahmud and his brother, Ahmad, putting an end to her last remaining hope of a life with any optimism or happiness. She heard about her father's relatives' hostility toward her mother, their pointed comments, and the many tragedies that produced cracks in the branches of the family, until she subconsciously accepted that life was a stream of relentless sorrows, deviations, and agitations. Her only solace was in study, where she excelled. She enrolled at the faculty of medicine, like her aunt Nadira, and as soon as the opportunity to work in Saudi Arabia arose she emigrated. After years of absence, it came as a surprise to her mother to receive a letter informing her that she was marrying a Pakistani who worked at her hospital.

Warda Hamada al-Qinawi.

She was the third child of Sadriya and Hamada. She was born and grew up in Khan Ga'far but loved dearly the old house in Bayt al-Qadi. She was devoted to her grandmother Radia, and her grandmother reciprocated her love.

"Warda is your most beautiful daughter but her mind is her most distinguishing feature," Radia would say to Sadriya.

She was engaged to a young cousin of her father before she had reached the legal age to marry but contracted malaria and was unable to fight it. She died, leaving a wound in her mother's heart that never healed.

Yazid al-Misri.

HE ARRIVED IN CAIRO a few days before the French invasion. He came from a family of druggists in Alexandria, which was wiped out by an epidemic, every man and woman in it, leaving only himself. He detested the city, made up his mind to leave, and wended his way to Cairo. He had with him a little money and a rare quality in those days, namely the reading and writing skills he had learned at a religious inst.i.tute before he was torn away to help his father at the drug store. He was lost in Cairo at first, then found lodgings in a house in al-Ghuriya and a job as a treasurer for a paper supplier. He was young and had a robust body, dark brown skin, and distinct features. He wore a gallabiya, cloak, and turban and, because of his piety and loneliness, his soul craved marriage. He noticed Farga al-Sayyad selling fish on the road and was attracted to her. With the help of his neighbor Ata al-Murakibi, he married her. She gave birth to many children, of whom Aziz and Dawud survived, and he lived to witness the birth of his grandchildren: Rashwana, Amr, and Surur. Sidi Nagm al-Din visited him in a dream and instructed him to build his grave near his tomb. He complied with the order, constructing an enclosure where he was buried and which, to this day, welcomes his deceased descendants from all over Cairo.

Glossary.

1919 Revolution A series of demonstrations and uprisings across Egypt between March and April 1919 protesting the British Occupation, sparked by the arrest and exile of Sa'd Zaghloul and other Wafdists seeking Egyptian independence.

Adli Yakan Pasha (1846a1933) Prime minister of Egypt in the 1920s. Leader of the Liberal Party and political rival of Sa'd Zaghloul.

Anwar Sadat (1918a81) Third president of Egypt from 1970 until his a.s.sa.s.sination in 1981 by fundamentalists, following the Camp David Accords and peace agreement with Israel.

bey t.i.tle for Egyptian and Turkish dignitaries, ranked below pasha.

dervish Sufi or mystical figure, popularly regarded as a source of wisdom and enlightenment, often consulted for solutions to problems and cures.

effendi t.i.tle of respect or courtesy, generally applied to members of the learned professions and government officials.

Free Officers Movement Underground revolutionary group of young army officers founded by Gamal Abdel Na.s.ser, which conducted the military coup of 1952.

gallabiya Simple-cut full-length garment, commonly worn by Egyptian peasants.

Gamal Abdel Na.s.ser (1918a70) First Egyptian president, from 1956 to 1970. Charismatic leader and champion of Arab socialism and pan-Arabism.

hanem t.i.tle of respect for women of the aristocracy, similar to "lady."

infitah Open-door policy. The opening up of the Egyptian market to private investment under Sadat in the 1970s, ending the public sector's hold on Egypt's economy.

Ismail Sidqi (1875a1950) Prime Minister of Egypt from 1930 to 1933, unpopular for abolishing the 1923 Const.i.tution.

July Revolution Military coup executed by the Free Officers Movement on July 23, 1952, which led to the abolishment of the Egyptian monarchy and declared Egypt a republic.

June 5 The first day of the Six Day War of 1967, when Israel launched a preemptive attack on Egypt with devastating consequences for the Egyptian air force and Arab morale generally.

mashrabiya Wooden oriel or projecting oriel window with a wooden latticework enclosure.

May 15 (1971) Sadat arrests a number of important men from the Na.s.ser era and charges them with plotting a coup against the government.

Misr al-Fatah Young Egypt Party. Political party founded in 1936 by Ahmed Hussein.

Muhammad Farid (1868a1919) President of the Egyptian National Party from 1908 to 1919 after Mustafa Kamil, strong advocate of education and reform.

Muhammad Mahmud (1877a1941) Twice prime minister of Egypt: in the 1920s under the British Mandate and in the 1930s after independence.

Mustafa al-Nahhas (1879a1965) Leader of the Wafd Party from 1927 to 1952 and prime minister of Egypt a number of times from the 1920s to the 1950s.

Mustafa Kamil (1874a1908) Journalist and Egyptian nationalist. Founder of the nationalist newspaper al-Liwa' in 1900 and the Egyptian National Party (Watani Party) in 1907.

narghile Shisha; hookah. Water pipe with gla.s.s base over which tobacco is burned on coals and smoked through a pipe. Popular in cafes in Egypt.

Occupation, the (1882a1952) The British Occupation of Egypt that began under Khedive Tawfiq. Egypt was granted independence in 1922, but Britain retained control of communications and defense until the 1952 revolution.

October 6 The date in 1973 on which Egyptian and Syrian troops crossed the ceasefire lines in the Sinai and Golan Heights, captured by Israel in 1967. The first day of the Yom Kippur War.

pasha An honorary t.i.tle awarded to Egyptians of high rank in the service of the Ottomans.

Sa'd Zaghloul (1859a1927) Leader of the Wafd party and nationalist movement of 1918a19. Key figure in the journey toward Egypt's independence. He was briefly prime minister in 1924.

September 1981 The month of Anwar Sadat's violent crackdown on Islamists and other opponents of his government, including journalists and intellectuals.

Setback, the Al-Naksa. The devastating defeat of Arab forces by the Israeli army in the Six-Day War of June 1967.

sidi Form of address used for men, equivalent to "mister."

Tripart.i.te Aggression, the The Suez Crisis of 1956. Britain, France, and Israel launched a military attack on Egypt following the nationalization of the Suez Ca.n.a.l.

Umma Party Political party that advocated a gradual winning of independence through cooperation with Britain. Founded in 1907.

Urabi Revolution (1879a82) Important uprising against the Khedive and European influence in Egypt led by Colonel Ahmad Urabi.

Wafd Party The party of Sa'd Zaghloul and main Egyptian nationalist party in the first half of the twentieth century.

War of Attrition, the (1967a70) The state of war and hostility between Egypt and Israel from 1967 to 1970.

Watani Party Egyptian National Party, founded by Mustafa Kamil in 1907.

Translator's Note.

MORNING AND EVENING TALK WAS WRITTEN in Naguib Mahfouz's last and most experimental phase of writing, at a time when he was particularly concerned with exploring new ways of expressing favorite themes-time, fate, politics, morality, the sources of evil, change-and taking the Arabic novel into new areas, like magical realism, folktale, and, on this occasion, biography. Morning and Evening Talk was also written when Mahfouz was an old man approaching his eightieth birthday and in a reflective mood. He had lived through some of the most exciting events in Egypt's modern history-the 1919 Revolution and struggle for independence, two world wars, the Free Officers Revolution in 1952, the Suez crisis, the Six-Day War, the October War of 1973 (the Yom Kippur War), the a.s.sa.s.sination of President Sadat-and it was only natural that in old age he should look back and wonder whether it had all been worth it. But the story of modern Egypt really began in 1798 when Napoleon's troops landed in Alexandria, so Mahfouz makes this the starting point of Morning and Evening Talk. The story begins at the turn of the nineteenth century-before the Urabi Revolution, Muhammad Ali's reforms, and the encounter with British and French colonialism transformed the face of Egyptian society and set it on the road to modernity-and ends sometime in the 1980s. As such the book represents an attempt by the author to come to terms with the events of the last two centuries.

Morning and Evening Talk is made up of sixty-seven character sketches from three Egyptian families-those of Yazid al-Misri, Ata al-Murakibi, and Shaykh al-Qalyubi-arranged alphabetically according to the name of the t.i.tle character. The lexicographical arrangement of the text evokes the great Arab biographical dictionaries of the cla.s.sical period, which record the lives of rulers, n.o.bles, scholars, poets, and other important figures. However, Mahfouz peoples his novel with everyday Egyptians, reminding us of something the medieval Arab biographers apparently overlooked: that history is the sum total of people's lives; that the story of a nation is the story of its citizens as much as its leaders and remarkable men. The idea of Morning and Evening Talk is to bring together many individual narratives to tell the larger story of modern Egypt, almost like a jigsaw puzzle that the reader must piece together in order to understand events in their chronological context and logical sequence. The unusual structure of the novel also has another important purpose. The reader of Morning and Evening Talk finds symptoms of social breakdown everywhere in the text: as time goes by the father loses his authority, family ties grow weaker, and the family tree is increasingly dispersed across the city of Cairo and beyond. The narrative fragmentation of Morning and Evening Talk is thus an embodiment of the erosion of traditional Arab society, and the family nucleus in particular.