14 - 20 December 2000
Issue No.512
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 14 - 20 December 2000 Issue No.512 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
At Sidi Gaber
I usually fall asleep only with the aid of sleeping pills, but this year on my birthday it was as if my body was celebrating the beginning of its 90th year in this world. After waking up in the morning, I nodded off again and slept peacefully all day, without the aid of sleeping pills. On normal days this is so unheard-of that it really did feel like a celebration.
The journey of life -- well, with the approach of my 90th year I feel I am passing the penultimate station, the Sidi Gaber station, as it were. When I went to Alexandria by train, I would always get off at Mahattet Masr, the last station on the line. So when I passed the Sidi Gaber station I could afford the comfort of knowing that I wasn't getting off quite yet. But I also knew that I was edging closer and closer to Mahattet Masr, that it wouldn't be long before I had to pack my luggage and get ready to exit the train. This is what my birthday feels like this year: it is like passing the Sidi Gaber station on the train.
The one station where I would have liked to linger longer was that of October 1973, when victory inspired the optimistic spirit in which Al-Harafish was written. It remains a rare, happy station to contemplate. As for the unhappy stations, there are very many of them -- no need to linger there.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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