Naguib Mahfouz - Midaq Alley (Chapter 1) lyrics

ThatAnnotate Midaq Alley is a relic of bygone times, and that it once shone like a brilliant star in the firmament of Old Cairo, is widely attested. Which Old Cairo do I have in mind? That of the Fatimids? Of the Mamluks? Of the Ottoman sultans? Only God, and the antiquarians, know, but, whatever the answer, it is an ancient monument, and a precious one at that. And how could it not be when its path, paved with flagstones, leads straight down into Boxmakers Street (that historic lane) and when its celebrated cafe, known as Kersha's, is decorated with flourishes of arabesque? Not to mention the alley's patent antiquity, its dilapidation and decrepitude, and the pungent smells of an ancient medical tradition, transmuted by the pa**age of time into the apothecaries' wares of today, and tomorrow, that waft from it. Yet even though the alley lives in near isolation from the courses of the wider world that surrounds it, it is loud with its own life, a life that, at its deepest, connects to the roots of all life while at the same time preserving some of the secrets of a world turned in upon itself. **** He puffs and blows as though he'd just run a race and no sooner has he finished selling a piece of basbousa than he's overcome once more by drowsiness. **** His necktie would turn to shreds and a new one would find its way to him. Wherever he found himself, people made him welcome. It was enough for him to absent himself for a single day from the cafe for Boss Kersha himself, despite his lethargy, to ask after him. In spite of this, he performed none of the miracles, feats, or predictions of which the common people believed him capable. He was always either in a silent daze or talking wildly. Nor did he care what people thought of him, despite which he was well loved and considered to be blessed, and everyone expected his presence among them to bring good fortune, for they declared that he was one of 'God's Righteous Friends' and that the revelation had been imparted to him in both Arabic and English.