I was very pleased to find out that 17 of my books have been translated into modern Greek -- I had the impression that only two or three were available. And it pleases me even more that the books have proved popular in Greece. The relationship between Egypt and Greece is, after all, ancient. The glory of Alexandria, for so long a symbol of Mediterranean unity, testified to that. So you can't imagine how much it pleases me when the Greek ambassador declares that my books express a Greek as much as an Egyptian sensibility, not only because this indicates that my work is universal, but because it confirms an affinity between the two cultures which I have always felt.
I feel honoured to have been asked to sign the Olympic armistice, a commendable Greek initiative calling for peace all over the world. Such should be, after all, the conviction of countries that have such a long and glorious history. They should not give in to the increasingly rampant temptation to hatred and violence but rather uphold the principles of peace and civilisation, of which literature is a part.
I was very pleased to find out that 17 of my books have been translated into modern Greek -- I had the impression that only two or three were available. And it pleases me even more that the books have proved popular in Greece. The relationship between Egypt and Greece is, after all, ancient. The glory of Alexandria, for so long a symbol of Mediterranean unity, testified to that. So you can't imagine how much it pleases me when the Greek ambassador declares that my books express a Greek as much as an Egyptian sensibility, not only because this indicates that my work is universal, but because it confirms an affinity between the two cultures which I have always felt.
