21 - 27 December 2000
Issue No.513
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 21 - 27 December 2000 Issue No.513 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Two wives
Governor of Alexandria Abdel-Salam Mahgoub's kind decision to dedicate areas of the Masr and Sidi Gaber train stations to me, I can only express my gratitude for what he has done in Alexandria. On the way home, I would wait patiently for the train in Mahattet Masr; sometimes I even got off in Sidi Gaber. But on the way to Alexandria, my year-long craving for sea air and the company of friends getting the better of me, I never spent any time in train stations.
With regard to places named in my honour, on the other hand, I did start going to Al-Harafish Café (located in the neighbourhood of Al-Hussein, the establishment is named after one of my novels), but whenever I walked into Khan Al-Khalili, waiters from Al-Fishawi Café (one of the first establishments I had frequented) would drag me there, insisting that I could not come to the Khan without sitting at the café I first knew and enjoyed. So I would end up going to both.
That's a bit like having two wives: you can't spend an hour with the one without spending an equal amount of time with the other. And ultimately you cannot argue with the oldest wife -- she has precedence; she was your first companion, and if only for that reason you cannot neglect or slight her even if the attraction of novelty draws you elsewhere.
In the same way, however many cafés are named after you or your works, you cannot betray the first, nor prefer one over the other. You have to be a just husband, and treat them all equally.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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