مئوية نجيب محفوظ بالأسكندرية / محمود منسي

مئوية نجيب محفوظ

مركز الجزويت بالأسكندرية

12/12/2011

فى ظل تاريخ الكون، يصبح تاريخ الإنسان على هذا الكوكب ضئيلاً جدًا، و لكن ينجح ذلك الإنسان بقدره أن يعيش، بل و البعض قد نجحوا فى تحقيق ما هو أكثر من ذلك. فبالرغم من خبرة الإنسان الفقيرة على هذا الكوكب فقد نجد بعض المتنبئين الذين نجحوا فى قراءة بعض من حروف المستقبل. فالكاتب المصرى نجيب محفوظ قد حدثنا عن تلك الحروف التى قد شكلت قدرنا الآن. و قد تبين لنا من تأمل ملحمة الحرافيش معرفة مراحل تطور التاريخ المصرى، فما عاشور الناجى و كفاحه الذى ظل شبه أسطورة إلا رمز من رموز عظمة التاريخ التى لا نستطيع أن ندركها، مثله كمثل عظمة الفراعنة. فعلى مدار القصة مازال أهل الحارة يتفاخرون بالماضى و لكن لا يفعلون شئ فى حاضرهم. كل ملحمة ترجمت عصر من عصورنا و صورت تفكير أبطال تلك العصور و مدى تغيرها و تطورها و تأخرها! و لكن نجح نجيب محفوظ فى تخليد عمله و كلامه فى آخر ملحمة عندما تنبأ بالثورة. ففى عالم "الفتوات" كان الحكم يتلاعب بين الناس لمن يمتلك قوة إنتزاعه، إلا فى ثورة الحرافيش التى أُسست من قلوب الناس و ليس من سواعدهم. و لكن قد أخطأ كاتبنا المصرى الصواب فى شئ، ففى ثورته كان الحرافيش يد واحدة و ليس بها أحزاب سياسية أو تفرقه عنصرية.. ربما كان ليحزن كاتبنا إذا كان ما يزال ينعم بالحياة أو ربما نحن لم نكن مثل الحرافيش فى يوم قط! ربما نحن مثل "الفتوات" نتعارك و نتبارز و نتلاعب للحصول على السلطة من أيدى مصر، و نشوه اللوحة الجميلة التى كانت تعبر فى يوم من الأيام عن الإتحاد و الحرية. فربما الثورة التى تحدث عنها نجيب محفوظ مازالت فى علم الغيب، و ما تلك الثورة التى نحن نغامر فيها بأرواحنا إلا الملحمة الثالثة أو الرابعة فى كتاب الحياة، و فى كتاب مصر!

و لكن يبقى شئ غامض يغمر القارئ على دوام عصور القصة، و هو ذكر سيرة الدراويش فى كل ملحمة، و فى كل عصر، و تلحين ذكرهم الذى يتلى على أهل الحارة.. فما الدراويش إلا الملأ الأعلى و الملائكة الذين ظلوا يرسلون البركة على أهل الحارة. أو ربما الدراويش فى القصة هم الصوفيين أهل العلم الذين قد زهدوا السياسة و الناس و بدأوا يتواصلوا مع مخلوقات أخرى فى التكية و يتفكرون فى سياسة الكون. و كان ظهورهم لأهل الحارة لسبيل الهدى و لكن كل ما كان يسمع منهم هو تلاوات غير مفهومه و لكنها جميلة، ففى الحقيقة كانوا يتحدثون بلغة الإنسان و حروفه و لكن بمنطق الإله، فكان الناس لا يفقهون حكمتهم فيسمعونها و كأنها لغة أخرى. ففى آخر ملحمة عندما فشلوا الدراويش فى التواصل مع أهل الحارة بالكلام، فتواصلوا بثمار التوت.. و لا يزال الدراويش يطوفون من ملحمة إلى أخرى، و من كتاب إلى كتاب، بل من عالم إلى آخر، ففى طوافهم الدائم حكمة لأنهم على يقين أنهم لن يروا الله و لن يدركوا الملكوت إلا من الطواف و النظر فى كل الإتجاهات فى نفس الوقت. فبحكمتهم يزهدون الدنيا و يمتلكون الملكوت.. و يصبحون جزء من بلاط الملك الأعلى!

فى كتاب آخر و هو "أمام العرش" ذكر نجيب محفوظ محاكمة ملوك و رؤساء مصر من بداية مينا موحد القطرين و حتى عصر الناصرية فى محكمة الحياة الأخرى الفرعونية. ففى هذا الكتاب التاريخى نجد سرد أحداث تاريخنا، بكل أخطائه و مزاياة، و لكن يظل الكتاب ناقصًا حتى أكمل القدر آخر فصل منه و جعل رئيسنا المخلوع حسنى مبارك وراء قضبان المحكمة، و هنا الروعة لأن مبارك هو الوحيد الذى لم يذكره الكتاب و هو الفرعون الوحيد فى تاريخ مصر الذى حاكمه شعبه! ربما كاتبنا قد كتب هذا الكتاب لتحذير الرئيس السابق و قد جعل فى نهاية الكتاب مشهد لكل فرعون راحل يطلق نصيحة مخلدة للمصريين و لحكامها، فربما هذا الكتاب كان مجرد نصيحة أخوية من حاكم الأدب إلى حاكم الدولة!

فى النهاية نجح نجيب محفوظ بعلمه أن يؤكد لنا أن بعض الكتب الكلاسيكية مازالت حية و عصرية، و لكن قد نسينا و ها نحن نتذكر مرة أخرى، فالدراويش مازالوا يطوفون، و يدعون، و يبتهلون.. و مازال الكاتب المصرى يجلس القرفصاء على مر الفصول و العصور، لا يهزه تقلب الطقس و القلوب، و هو دومًا عاكفًا فى خشوع، يؤرخ ما يحدث من آيات و عبر بقلمه الفلسفى الحاد الذى يذبح الأوراق ذبحًا و يقدمها أضحية للبشرية و لخالقها..

بقلم: محمود حسن منسي

روائى / مصور / صحفى

موظف بالأكاديمية العربية للعلوم و التكنولوجيا و النقل البحرى

Short Story Competition / Resurrection of Ancient Egypt / The Forgotten Writers Foundation

“The Forgotten Writers” foundation was created after the Egyptian revolution with a clear Mission Statement to reveal the depth of Egyptian Literature to the rest of the world. This would be done by writing about cultural and social topics that are original and novel. The first project this foundation offered was a book of short stories about the revolution by 12 Egyptian residents.

This is the first competition offered by “The Forgotten Writers”. The theme is about stories inspired by the era of Ancient Egypt. The characters and events could be fictional or real. The suitable stories will be collected in one book to be published, and this will be the first contemporary literary book written about Ancient Egypt.

People from different nationalities cross the world for seeing the ancient monuments of the Pharaohs. They study their theories, their language and their traditions, but we forgot that these people were very artistic, and art was created for us to contemplate it and assume stories out of it. We want to make out of the Ancient Egyptians not only gods of science, but muses too that will still inspire us until this very moment. By speculating their lives and mysteries we will be able to open a new gate that will connect us to their wonders, a gate between our troubled present and their mystic past.

I do not personally believe in setting rules in writing and guidelines. A writer is a mini-creator who has the absolute freedom in writing whatever, and however.

Eligibility and Competition Guidelines:

1-      The competition is open to Egyptians and Non-Egyptians.
2-      Any age group and gender.
3-      Fluent English.
4-      Originally written in English and not translated through another party.
5-      Unpublished work.
6-      Maximum 10,000 words.
7-      It is possible to use illustrations as figures, pictures and drawings if you are a painter.
8-      It is possible to include poetry within your story.
9-      It is NOT possible to use quotes from other writers.
10-   You are free to choose any genre of horror, fantasy, politics, romance, or any other one.
11-   You are free to use any kind of style and narration.
12-   All stories are sent via email.
13-   Word Document: Font must be Times New Roman, 12, Margins Justified and pages numbered.
14-   There must be a title for the story, centered in the middle of the page, bold, and size 12.
15-   Do not mention your name in the word document.
16-   Save the word file with your Name and Title on it.
17-   Numbers must be written in (words) except if it was a date-year / ex: 1996 – Seven years old.
18-   Write using American English (spelling and vocabulary).
19-   Do not use (&) instead of (And).
20-   The deadline date is the same as the revolution / 25 – Jan – 2012 .
21-   Email your stories to: Native_Writer@Yahoo.com

Judging:

1-      The winning stories will be chosen on their creativity and the novelty of the idea. Strange and unusual ideas are needed.
2-      The depth of the text, characters, places… etc.
3-      The metaphors and similes used.
4-      The beauty of the writing style and dialogs if there are any.
5-      The ending of the story and how powerful it is.
6-      There will be no judging on grammar because it will be unjust since there are those who have English as a first language and those who have it as a second language. We will do the editing if needed for you, but try to introduce your piece as decent as possible.

Notice that this book will be a cocktail of different ideas. It is more of using the suitable ratios of stories rather than it is a competition. There might be outstanding stories that might not find a place in the book. But, we will try our best to make all the good stories fit, even if it will be possible to make two separate books. So, just write and know that his competition is not measuring your level, but consider it as a workshop and a chance to do something different, challenge yourself and get to know new intellectual people.
Writers are free to take my opinion in the ideas before they start writing. I am here to assist and support anyone, and honored to. Just email me on Native_writer@yahoo.com or call me on (002) 0100 92 818 08.


You may spread and share, we are thankful for your help :)

Yours,

Mahmoud Mansi

Writer Heidi Lessmann says: "Its wanting to write about my own intepretation of ancient Egypt, how I see it with my eyes, how I feel it with my soul. A part of "unknown" history that may have existed or not,... who knows...? There is no one from the past alive today to tell us that..but maybe a ghost from the past....? This is is a great challenge for all us writers. Facts one knows already can be boring, now we present something that man maybe has never read before....bringing it to life.Maybe touched with Egyptian dust from hundreds of years ago..."

**************************************************************

Identity Magazine - Cairo / December 2011 Issue

**************************************************************

UGO Magazine - Alexandria / January 2012 Issue

**************************************************************

Ovi Magazine - Finland / December 2011 Issue

**************************************************************

International Magazine - Egypt & London / January 2012 Issue

**************************************************************

MarwaRakha.com / January 2012

**************************************************************

WorldPulse.com / January 2012

Moses in Tahrir

Moses in Tahrir,
Comparison Study between the Revolution of Moses and the Current Egyptian Revolution


As I walked through the everyday struggle, something happened and stopped me, a very deep voice which made me leave all the articles and analysis I was working on. This voice conquered my mind, and this is one of the very rare cases that one feels joyfulness for being conquered! As the Egyptian revolution interrupted and overwhelmed the world of politics, international trade, micro economy, human capabilities and left based on the opinion of people, either its divine fingerprints or marked its fathomless scars on the walls of the Earth and the hearts of humankind, it managed to also pierce my mind and create a tunnel between the present and the past, between the current Egyptian revolution and the ancient Egyptian one.

As I watched, listened and spoke with people who carried contradicting opinions about the revolution and about the current circumstances of piracy, I managed to try and create some sort of peace connection, but apparently a peacemaker in a war zone is considered the most wanted enemy, he is considered the taker of their satisfaction, unlike the demons who enhance flames then count who did ignite the most. In this case I, the son of Adam was confronting Satan, trying to wake people up from this new kind of lust he is planting in our lands, and watering the seeds with a fluid that is not from the divine Nile. I sure became his enemy by now, denying his powers, confronting his respectable flames with my sharp words. At this point, when I found some people provoked from me because I speak peace, yet all this inspired me, and opened the gate to the past when Moses spoke to me through the words of the Holy Quran, and thus I left everything I was doing, and immediately couldn’t resist writing this article.

Egypt has always been a debate and a land that carried many troubles although in the end it is a very peaceful country. In the time of Moses, there was a very cruel Pharaoh, the cruelest of all. Moses’s revolution against the system of the Pharaoh should be studied from different angles, apart from the mystifying personality of Moses who managed with his patience and wisdom to become a miracle himself.

One day when Moses was walking, he saw one of his companions of the same sect who were suppressed by the Pharaoh, who was one of the revolutionaries, fighting with one of the Pharaoh’s soldiers. When he saw Moses, and he was known by his supernatural masculinity, he called for his help, and as a gallant brother Moses went to push the enemy away, and so with his superb strength the soldier died. The first thing Moses did was ask for forgiveness and confess that he was tricked by Satan. Afterwards, Moses said, (“My Lord, for the favor You bestowed upon me, I will never be an assistant to the criminals.”) Chapter 28, The Stories, Verse 7. And he tried to be invisible from trouble in order to avoid killing or harming someone else. The next day Moses walked in silence in the city to find the same revolutionary man fighting with another soldier. Moses blamed his companion for the piracy he caused, and yet went to defend him until God spoke to Moses for the first time, but through the tongue of his enemy, and said, (“O Moses, do you want to kill me as you slew a soul the other day? Do you want to become a tyrant in the land, not a reformer?”) Chapter 28, The Stories, Verse 19. And this was the time when Moses departed from the country because the Pharaoh wanted his head.

As I thought about this, and comparing it to the current circumstances of which people want to battle with one another for revenge, ego or freedom, and soldiers are fighting back for social security, justice or lack of control, I was overwhelmed by the wisdom of Moses, and the way he thought about things. Egypt now is in deep suppression, and the people are doing the right thing, fighting for what they believe in, dying for the sake of their country and notions, but after reading these few verses from the Book of Wisdom, I found out the everyone does what they think is right, even the pirates. Perhaps everyone is right when it comes to facing a crisis, but now I am sure that there are degrees for rightfulness, same as there are degrees for heaven. Moses started his journey as a loyal brother and a clever slayer, but he climbed those steps of wisdom, and rose to a level of extreme ambition. When he tasted what the angry revolutionary had, he knew that he was much better than being a killer; same as the enemy.

Another vital element that I must highlight, when Moses spoke to the enemy (soldier), he found out that his words were not ones of an evil man at all, he was only one of the Pharaoh’s soldiers, perhaps a victim too and was attacked as a result of stereotyping. That is why it is very important to consider what is beyond the scene we see, beyond the uniforms, beyond our good intentions, and there we will find the godly light that will inspire us with the answers.

Moses had the strength of ten men, yet he never killed another man in his entire life. He always had the chance to kill the Pharaoh, but he did not. He sure did his plan in a very distinctive way. Moses left the country, and headed towards Palestine where he got married and lived for nearly ten years. He was the key that God preserved for the right time. Through all those years, Moses managed to never forget his mission, and with his determination he abandoned the healthy life he had had in order to face the Pharaoh and bring success to the revolution.

As a leader, Moses returned to confront the Pharaoh alone, along with the company of his brother Harun. He did not get any of his people with him, although they would have followed him. He did not want to make war, he did not want to waste time fighting the soldiers, and ruining everything. He chose the philosophy of walking towards the source of fire… (“Stay here; indeed, I have perceived a fire; perhaps I can bring you a torch or find at the fire some guidance.”) Chapter 20, Taha, Verse 10.

God commanded Moses to go - along with his brother - to the Pharaoh and speak calmly to guide him. The main concern of Moses was not the suppression they lived in, but it was for the sake of the Pharaoh too, to guide him to the right path. His request was not to become the king of Egypt or even to let the Pharaoh abandon his throne. His request was to just leave with his people safely, leaving behind a piece of advice for the Pharaoh that might make him a better person sometime in the future. Can you see the difference between the two revolutions? Moses used all kinds of logic to convince the Pharaoh, but he was very arrogant. Yet, Moses did not fight the Pharaoh in the name of freedom, but he treated him with mercy in the name of God. Moses was a true Sufi, no wonder Egypt has a very deep spiritual sort of power…

None of the followers of Moses killed any of the soldiers of the Pharaoh after Moses started his revolution, on the contrary they were only escaping from their attacks. The only ones who got killed within the revolution were the Pharaoh’s sorcerers who were executed because they believed in the message of the prophet. They were martyrs indeed, and their lives were sacrificed for the sake of their message, and to my surprise they accepted it with their wisdom too and with no violence as they said to the Pharaoh, (“We prefer you not over the clear signs that have come to us, and to Him (Allah) Who created us. So decree whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decree (regarding) this life of the world...”) Chapter 20, Taha, Verse 72.

Moses had the power of angels, miracles, people and his own physical power, yet he left the death of the Pharaoh and his soldiers a choice made by God, until the Red Sea swallowed them all.

Another enigmatic fact which occurred, and is also contradicting lots of the opinions of Egyptians, is that Moses was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, and Moses before he became the leader of his people lived out of the country for ten years. This is a lesson contemporary Egyptians should learn, the leader should be elected on who he is and what good would he bring, even if he was unwillingly a part of the old system, and even if he spent the last dozen of his years outside the country! And even if he was a killer, like Moses was when he first departed Egypt and escaped from the Pharaoh!

An Australian writer and a friend of mine, who is a resident in Cairo, highlighted something very important as I was speaking about Moses. She said that his peaceful revolution took him dozens of years perhaps, well this is true, but it was the nature of that age that everything took years in order to shape, due to the lack of communication, transportation, and technology. However, though Moses still played it slowly but surely, yet in the end his people and his coming generation conquered the world and were kings, this was when prophets David and Solomon ruled. And this all happened without a single murder.

Overall the main concern for Moses within his revolution was the safety of everyone and the guidance of those who damaged the country. He was advising the ruler of the country although he had no intention to even stay in it! That is why his revolution turned into a message, and messages do not fade away with time, they are left to us, to learn from, to study and to put them in comparison with our current world and attitude. We owe our thanks to God who bestowed upon us His Holy Books, not only to read the stories of those whom we miss and wish to meet, and feel a pinch of spiritual and nostalgic sentiments, but to repeat those beautiful stories and not deprive history from witnessing them. And in the end, the Stick of Moses defeated the Sword of the Pharaoh…

Now we are all sons of Moses, and we have no superb prophet among us to reach and talk to the current ruler. That is why now I believe that the only solution to speak to the ruler is to protest, peacefully, and if any harm was to be done, then we should try to avoid it, and then resolve later, in order not to harm our brothers or our enemies, same as Moses did. Egyptians have several miracles too, of which they use in their demonstrations. The meaning or purpose of protesting is advising the other side, more than attacking them, it is to deliver our intentions and words to those who have authority and responsibility. Protesting can be done through walking in a demonstration, publishing an article, documenting a movie, speaking in the media or being interviewed, these are all different ways for delivering the message to the other side, and same as the anonymous people that are exposed to danger in the demonstrations, the public figures are exposed to the danger of being found in their own homes. All Egyptians equally share the effort and threats as long as they are participating in some way or another.

As for the officers, they must do like the wise soldier of the Pharaoh, and remind the unstable revolutionaries that they must not fight one another, for officers have the right to protest and speak up too! And the officers who were ordered by their superiors to kill the innocent people protesting in front of them should always remember and imagine when the brave Moses stood among the followers of the Pharaoh, including the sorcerers, who were his most powerful soldiers, defending his beliefs against the snakes (bombs) they threw and warned them: (Then, when they had cast, Moses said, “What you have brought is sorcery; God will assuredly bring it to naught. God sets not right the work of those who do corruption.”) Chapter 10, Jonah, Verse 81.

And as our political and spiritual master Moses taught us to be patient, and by being patient is remaining on the right track: (Said Moses to his people, “Pray for succor to God, and be patient; surely the earth is God’s and He bequeaths it to whom He will among His servants. The issue ultimate is to the god-fearing.”) Chapter 7, The Heights, Verse 28.

Our Revolution is not only watched by the entire world, but by the ones living in the heavens above too. God gave us the power to control the circumstances as much as we can. God believed in us, as when He first created us the angels asked Him about the reason He created human beings that would kill one another and cause destruction to the environment, yet God almighty believed that there will be few of us who will do otherwise. God believed in humanity although lots of us still do not believe in Him or implementing the wisdom of His Book.

We are all one now, asked to do the best for this country, with our unity and understanding, we will do the right thing. We should always work for our strength, but always allow our wisdom to be the one in control.

As a conclusion, what should we do with our Revolution, how to play it right? After this article, every reader will be able to rethink everything, and everyone will be able to come up with a different philosophy, and everyone now knows that there are levels for rightfulness, we just have to do our best to rise and help others rise too, and never fight with one another, nor apply stereotyping. We should let our Father Moses proud of us, and we should give ourselves the honor to inherit his wisdom, and revive it in the memory of his name, and the name of Egypt, and the undying name of Allah.


                                                                                                                             The Native Writer,
                                                                                                                              Mahmoud Mansi



Authors’ Note:
I know some people might hate me because of this article. I know my readers might lose interest in me for speaking a different philosophy, but this was an inspiration from God, and I was the one chosen to see it this way, and it is my duty to reveal this message.
Sometimes a writer is not a creator, but the Pen of God.
Dedication:
To Prophet Moses, To Egypt, To those who seek Wisdom all over the world.
Acknowledgement:
To Writer, Architect and Artist Mostapha Halim, for taking the picture and for writing the title.

An Egyptian Woman Being a President, (Cleopatra's Throne) / Identity Magazine, October 2011 / Mahmoud Mansi

Cleopatra’s Throne,


"The Purpose of this article is not to vote for a woman in the next period, but it is to know what She is capable of."

*******************************************************************

I am not going to look at other countries right now and compare. I will not speak about a far reality and give examples from countries that have been economically stable for decades and applying democracy since our birth. No, instead I will speak about facts that we see every day, facts that some of us are even lucky to have, share, or even hear about them.

We have seen in our country successful women who became entrepreneurs, leaders, bank managers, and even great followers. We need not to speak about myths when facts are speaking louder. So is it possible that an Egyptian woman can sit on Egypt’s throne, to witness a second Cleopatra? Is it possible that History will actually decide to repeat itself?

Women have always been a riddle, not only to man, but to logic, philosophy and art, and sometimes in the spiritual books too, to an extent that in the hardest of times or best of ones, some look into their reflection of the mirror and find themselves as fathomless riddles.

We are lucky indeed to have books all over the time periods of humanity that reveal to us a lot about the environment and psychology of our ancestors. Women in such ancient eras were a great source of inspirational flames to all artists, warriors and philosophers. In one way or another, they did share the thoughts of every man-creator, until we were born and new books were written, new facts were earthed, and we found our sisters, daughters and mothers are not limited as a source of inspiration and shelter, but they got inspired and became creators too, they conquered different fields of life and fed them with their own ambition.

Why has God created more women than men? Difficult to find an accurate answer, yet not impossible to observe and admit the facts around. We stare at insects and some animals, and wonder why they were created, and so we conclude that they only were just to balance the environment and ecosystem. We cannot stare down at one another wondering if we were created for the same reason, for only breathing, eating and breeding.

If one does not believe in the role of a woman in changing her current society then one does not believe in the majority of the society. In a smart business model the manager does not rely on the short or long objectives while putting the other aside, they work on what they can give best, and on what the environment needs. Mothers’ number one goal is to take best care of their children, and this is how they create the change in the society, but that is on the long-run. Clever ones do balance between the short-run and long-run changes.

Even in the ancient days, in Egypt’s history the role of a woman has been proven several times and has been reinforced by some of the celestial books. Shagarat El-Dor is one of the examples who proved the theory of feminism in serving a throne. The Holy Quran highlighted in a theme in “Sorat Yusuf” verse 28 - the power of a woman’s intelligence and praised her mind, though lots of people took it as an offensive way.

Man and Woman are different in nature, with a few things in common such as ethics, culture, philosophy and emotions. Feelings and thoughts may differ, priorities and the routine differ too. The mechanism of both minds and the way they analyze and function are distinctive, thus each has specific roles that can be managed best.

In nature through ages a woman always sought perfection, even within the internal problems of her home, including the financing, the cleanness of her own beauty and place, the emotional and mental protection of her husband, and of course, the education and morals of her children, and even some of them participate in the external environment too, and assist their husbands through their own careers, and through sharing their opinions. The husband on the other hand deals more with the external environment; how to get the suitable amount of money, which schools the children would join, moving to a new place or staying in the same house, and in the end of the day he gets a report from his wife about his home and helps her in dealing with the problem.

Of course such variables differ from one person to the other, but we are only analyzing the core of each genre according to the nature we used to live over thousands of years and between the nature we live now, and extracting metaphors that would lead us to political facts.

Now if this woman was alone and had some assets that she annually rents or an acceptable bank account that brings her a fine amount of fixed money, and her home is facing internal problems, what would she prefer best; healing her internal environment or ignoring it and seeking more income? This is not meant to be a leading question… it is only shaped in a logical way. The same goes with Egypt, it has its fixed income from the Suez Canal and tourism, it is politically stable with the other countries, its army is well trained and powerful, but ciaos lies within its thick walls. It lies on the land that used to be blessed until we chose otherwise. It lies within our daily conversations and exchanged feelings. It lies within the words of wisdom we chose not to ever speak. And who owns the keys to every lock in the house, and protects the secrets behind each door except for a wise woman. And who denies that our home has been dark, gloomy and dirty for decades, that our hearts were deprived from the art of passion, our eyes were deprived from the greenness of Mother Nature, and our bodies were deprived from the beautiful pride of a sane woman?

Egypt does not need a husband to lavish her with his treasures of gold and diamonds right now, or a stepfather to put her on his lap and fool her with some games and toys. Egypt needs a kind mother to embrace her within her serene arms, tell her the bedtime stories of knights who served humanity a long time ago, feed her well, plant the native seed of faith and unity in her heart, and to educate her very well. Egypt needs a mother first to let her stand strong on her feet, with a distinctive and smart personality, with a mind that knows how to differentiate between a good decision and a better one, then her life would finally start and she can get engaged and exposed freely with no fear at all, because a good mother is never forgotten and a good child never forgets her parents’ words.

There are some things in Egypt that require a feminine mind with a feminine touch. Egypt needs a female president, at least for one presidential period to implement the lucrative changes that have never been done in our country before.

If she decides playing it with the rules of man, nothing at all might change, except for us being called a very democratic Arab country and praised from the rest of the world, only in their newspapers and media channels. However, if she decides playing it her way while listening and consulting some of the logical rules of man, miracles might finally occur. The point is to break the political routine, use different plans, and have different goals, to refresh our political cycle and create new demands.

Even if this woman is a feminist, this means she will take direct care of over 75% of the Egyptian population, which are of course women, thus the remained 25% will be indirectly taken care of through the satisfied women. On the contrary, I think when the rights of a human being are fulfilled, this person will be able to give more, whether to the self, to other people, or to the environment.

Of course some of you would still fear breaking all the rules all of a sudden and will ask that the next president should be an ex-member of the army, well the good news is that we do have women working as officers in the Ministry of Defense. I guess we were not so bad after all; perhaps the trend is rising, even if with a speed of a turtle.

From the study of woman’s nature and role from the novels, poetry, drama and history one would know that a woman is better in handling children and being tolerant with them than man, and more passionate about art and romance. Some men might have the same qualities and interests but women do not hesitate in revealing them bravely, this is how she becomes more powerful. I am not stating that a woman is more creative than man or vice versa, but I am confessing that women show more interest in such things, thus they do implement art on their daily lives and on the ones around them, whether this kind of art is romantic, dramatic, or sarcastic.

A presidential woman would take good care of Egypt’s children, considering their health, education, dreams, morals and most of all the traditions. I am from the people who strongly believe that children do affect their parents in one way or another, not only the other way around. This promises an indirect change for all the parents too, whether in the way their children react with the environment or the way they react with them.

One of the very vital aspects a presidential woman would care about is highlighting the importance of art, and the evolution of its makers. This will lead to healing the morals that were defaced, humiliated and raped by the Egyptian routine life which made a few extra Pounds worth the lives of others. Art inspires people to feel one another, and mentally interact with the environment.

The streets would probably be clean again, perhaps for the first time over the past fifty years or something. There might be police officers disguised in normal citizens who are only responsible for fighting the verbal and physical assaults caused to women by men in the streets.

What would happen to Egypt if our women lived in safety, if our streets were as clean as our homes, if art became a common language we all speak, and if our children grew up within parents who believe and implement such beliefs, within a society that is organized to help you serve such aims?

If all this was not a myth, I guess the coming male president would have the chance to revive the external skeleton of Egypt while being sure that she has a strong heart now that would be ready to walk, climb and run for fulfilling the journey… the journey to the future that might eventually lead us to the glory of the past, and thus the circle of history would be finally complete.

********************************************************************


The Native Writer..
Mahmoud Mansi,


-Author of  Novel/Book: “A Journey from Darkness to Light” 


-Journalist – Contributor / Alex Med Newsletter – Bibliotheca Alexandrina

-International Literary Award winner of “A Sea of Words” 2010 / Spain - Egypt

-Writer / Identity Magazine & United-Humanity.com / Ex-Writer , Beyond & Campus


-Poet / Playwright / Photographer & Critic

-HR Specialist / Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport

-MA Degree, Marketing.

Earth Salvation - Story by (Mahmoud Mansi) - Reviews - Criticism

Stone and Flesh Pray to The Lord / © Mahmoud Mansi

Spain / Barcelona / Sagrada Familia Church / December 2010

Earth Salvation..

In the world of Literature, we as writers sometimes refer to the champion of the story as a “He / She” or as an “I”. This is not done randomly but each has its own reflection into the realm of the story. When we use the “He” tool, it leaves more space for us to delve into the world of descriptions. We will have much space giving details for the internal / external skeleton of the character. However, when we refer to the tool “I” we will cover other internal / external details for the wandering character along with the world around it. Personally, I believe that the story is always missing another half as long as it is based on only one of these tools. It is an exciting thought to write a story twice, using each tool of these, but will the reader urge to read both!

If you did not notice so far that I am starting this story by wielding the tool “I”. Yet, this time is an exception because this is a true story that personally happened to me; the writer. I don’t usually narrate my stories directly and announce it because the best part in reading a book is that the reader never knows what can be true and what cannot be! But as I said this simple story is an exception.

About two years ago, I was waiting for one of my friends in the “Tram” station. He was late as usual, and I was anticipating the tiny universe around me; the street, the people’s faces, the buildings, the sky… I noticed how this tiny area had much several worlds within its invisible walls. We were going to the gym, but he still didn’t show up.

Across the street and the railway, it was the other side of this tiny universe, I found an old woman; a beggar, who walked randomly, alone, not begging! She tottered while looking around, as if searching for something. She accidently found a soda can resting aside. She held it while walking, and shook it but sadly it was empty. For my surprise, she held the can and walked to the garbage, and threw it there!

At first I thought that what I saw was surely from my sheer imagination. Luckily my friend didn’t show up yet, so I drove myself toward the garbage, and looked into it, yes the can was there. This was no fiction, only the unbelievable truth.

I stood there, wondering, and analyzing. As any other writer, I was trying to understand and find a philosophical justification, or else I wouldn’t be able to do my work out well!

Is it education that affects our attitudes? I thought so. Is it our social level? I thought so too. But at that moment I’ve fell into a well of doubts and confusions. It’s when the stable ground you were always standing on, is after all only an ice edge that is about to crack at any time.

There were two ways of thinking to walk through that I’ve noticed. The first was that logic and social class had no direct effect in influencing us. But why do we learn and wear the best clothes if we carry no class in such things? Why are we so keen regarding our degrees as long as they will never change what we do? If our struggle toward knowledge and royalty was a myth, then what are we?

The other path I walked in, after I failed piercing into the first one was that this beggar considered this street as her house. Maybe she was homeless and this street was her only shelter so she longed to keep it clean. For sure this explanation soothed me more as it illuminated the first one. But still, my confusion did not flee. If this was her home, then how could we (the educated and elite), be such an intruders and pollute her home-like shelter! I still find myself guilty with each path I choose through my life. My philosophy is failing me with each thought from freeing my spirit from the cross of sin.

Thanks to God, I have been inspired to find an unexpected third path that may be a salvation for my spirit, away from the lashes of a whip or the nails of a cross. She was an old “woman”. It’s in women’s nature that they focus more on these things, they have always been the ones protecting the houses from the dust and bacteria, and now that they have got their acknowledged freedom, they are now doing this to the streets too! I liked this theory; it made my spirit float free. It made people seem innocent once again… No! Wait. It only makes the other gender free. Not mine! I am now a criminal against my gender too! In all cases and with any justification, I would have been a criminal to someone…

I heard my friend calling me. Finally he arrived. Finally he postponed my death for a few more minutes. And now, after two years, I still remember this ignored story, as simple as it is, but I failed to vanquish its secrets. Oh philosophy, you want to crucify me with all means… Accept me now. You deserve to have my death with the greatness of your secrets… Embrace me, for though I’ve always been a sinner who failed to understand, yet never abandoned the eagerness for you.

·         Published with Beyond Magazine / Cairo / June 2010.

Reviews by my Readers,

Renee Drummond: Salvation : Redemption : Deliverance from Evil!!! Nice story beautiful diversion of life’s ability to manifest guilt... I feel the spirit of this story is one of entangled enlightenment!!! I await the day of your sacred... arrival!!


Muhammad Hazem Sherif: This is a truly intriguing narration, Mahmoud. It certainly is mentally provoking to eye such a scene without a swift understanding of the underlying causation.

Extensive observation is the prerequisite qualification for any writer, and you... certainly do possess it, masha-Allah :).

Rhoda Ismail: Very flattering especially the part where we women are neat =) Thanks.

In general, I could say that it is true that morals have nothing to do with social standards or education, what makes us middle class people hire uneducated servants to clean our houses then, aint I right?

Rowida Elbahi: Like the style... and the analytical thinking. I believe you would know why did she did that if you kept watching her, anyway, after long talks with people and long watching them I am sure of one fact...What you wear or what your class doesn’t reflect your understanding for life, it only gives you tools to do so yet many don't use them.

Alia Taher: This is marvelous, Mahmoud! I like the way you delineate the theme of relativity in your story. For, the story expounds the fact that everything in life is relative & that there is always a hidden facet in every person's character which remains concealed and sheltered inside a kernel which only the sensitive & perceptive can crack & delve into. It reveals that every human being is enigmatic to a certain extent & that we should never allow people's appearances to be the measure or scale by which we can understand & fathom who they really are. The fact that you managed to see the bright, civilized nature of the woman which was muffled by her shabby, tattered clothes is similar to that of a surgeon who uses his scalpel to treat his patients. With your perceptive & penetrating eye, you managed to peel off the hidden layers of the old woman's character until you reached the bright core of her being. I also like the metaphor of the street as her home which she is so keen on keeping clean because it was her only shelter. I wish all people would follow in this old woman's footsteps & be as eager as she was to keep the streets clean. A lovely piece of writing indeed, which both instructs & delights!! Perfecto!! Keep up the great work :)

Marlene De Fabrizio: The subconscious is the balanced warrior angel and knows what you write physiologically. The conscious has an opportunity to choose compassion in action with an open heart, humbled by nature and with no fear. What is real won't hurt us and ...what is unreal does not exist in the realm of truth. This gift is the grace of Goddess-God. It is the dream come true in a marriage made in heaven and our the purpose of human manifestation, to live in union with the other. Collective--Jungian Akashian human spirit--unconscious, and under analysis our nose is not really our nose...LOL... The answers are in the stars, and we experience what is in the stars within and in the union with each other. Through this union springs forth a karmic life, over and over again, till we are one inexplicable enlightened and eternal blissful energy. We as humans are here to love. As a woman loves, with wisdom, and a man with wisdom, man says "In you I find my spirit!" and she then dances for him, as wise women live to dance the dance of spirit.

Kerrie Guy: We are all students and teachers top each other ...
Once we accept this truth learning becomes so much clearer...
I often ask myself as I observe supposed beggars on the streets who in fact is the real beggar ...The one who begs or the one who gives to the beggar...?????


On a lighter note...
Mahmoud I knew this was a true story the second I read your friend was late!!!
Welcome to Egypt :))) LOL

Nawara Magdy Belal: I like your justification as much as I think it’s more of psychological than philosophical because it’s your unconscious that is trying to find a relief... and if I know you a little bit I would say that you are always seeking for salvation but turn into... self punishment and if that is the case then you want to curse your whole gender as if its men who are contributing to the earthly state that we are going through now which is of course somehow true... because if you don’t empower women you will always lack earthly salvation...

Zainab El-Mansi: Yes, it's not education or social class that governs our behaviour though they of course affect it. I believe that one's own beliefs coming from one's own thinking that govern her/his behaviour.

You never know how this woman used to think or was before being a homeless person! Maybe she considered others one day, and now when no one considers her, she unconsciously considered them, people can be really cruel to each other.

AGAIN stereotypes :))!!!! It is NOT in women nature that they focus on keeping the house clean!!! It's supposed to be there in every human being who is CLEAN. Society stamped women with this "job" of caring about the house, but human beings should care about the place they live in :))

Monda Salem: As I told you a couple of days ago,, we writers seek a philosophical explanation for every little thing in that world. We kind of complicate everything no matter how futile or trivial it is. We conduct experiments, we keep everything under observation then reach and draw a conclusion. We believe everything happens, happens for a reason. That makes us permanently in unceasing search for the reasons behind anything and everything which leave us restless. We don't believe that some things sometimes happen for no reason. Bottom line, we invent a reason in our minds and we don't care facing hard times in this strenuous mental trauma trying to find an explanation for anything.


As for the attitude of this woman, my family did not teach me how to respect the street. Or they taught me theoretically without following the rules themselves. However, I learnt all that by myself or you can say "acquired". So, I believe that such things are not taught or learnt. Actually it is a gift!!

Noha A.ElGedy: The thing I like the most is your view for things, your analytical analysis for the situation, and the storm of unanswered questions that blew through your soul! You just missed one and simplest answer that you might think of to be absurd; each and every living human being has some small morals left in him...

Ahmed Elmaghraby: Well my friend, I’m not trying to find reasons for the old woman, why she had to do that, because as you mentioned it is a multi factorial issue and we will go through a dilemma until we find out why she had to do because no one can answer it but the old woman. So it was very nice how you start this about we the writers make a variation when we use the pronouns, but sometimes we shift and convey to use (you) to get the complete attention of the readers in order to make them invade the heart of the incidence :) Good job bro :)

  

May Rostom: Egyptians WORSHIP delegation. We have cooks to cook for us, drivers to run errands, maids to clean our houses, people to wash and iron our clothes and simply someone to pick up our rubbish! and as long as we have someone there for us to help us out, we'll NEVER do anything on our own (that applies to all human beings but Egyptians happen to take FULL advantage of this option!)

Hanan El-Dakkak: Well, the first thing I thought of when this old poor lady threw the can in the garbage can, was that she was deceived... she thought it had something to drink, but then it was actually empty. She might have done this because she thought that's where it deserves to be, or, she's avoiding the deceiving of any other desperate street wanderer. She doesn't want someone else to feel the same depression she had.

Salma Mohamed: Well Mahmoud I agree with Hanan's post. That's what popped in to my mind when I first read it. Adding to that I think that she could be minimizing her options of finding empty cans. She does not want to get back to the same street and see the empty can again. In that case she might look at the can again and feel desperate again because she remembers that the can is empty or she might forget that the can is empty and inspect it again and then feel desperate again. Anyway she is in a miserable state.

Noha Khatib: It is really so puzzling how sometimes observing starts from a point of just spending time, ends up with thinking about our role or even what we have felt during our act of observing... it is a very impressive journey that has discoveries... on both sides; outside and inside ourselves... very beautiful and deep short story, it arouses many and a lot of questions inside my mind, by the way I hate short stories :) just as I have studied most of times they end up without specific end and am so specific person and always love clear ends but really this one is fabulous in the way of starting it and in the way you narrate the whole incident, very smoothly that affects me how really I can justify the old woman attitude and really am eager to read more of your writings... with my best regards. 

 Geetanjali Dey: A very sensible yet a very simple story..... I simply went with the progress of the story... The depict was beautifully done and narrated well in the platform of expression..... I have developed a respect for you for recognizing the beauty of womanhood...... Very few people, rather being very categorical, a class of "Gentle Men" only has the courage to regard women for who and what they are..... We are so drown in the world of class, society, show off etc., that we are forgetting our own foundations..... I am glad to know you Mahmoud, who translated a story for a poor lady, barring her class, her belonging and what she is..... It's a true homage to her!!!


All that I can say lastly is "God Bless You" !!! :)


Emily Richardson: Well, this is a perfect example of "Be the change you wish to see in the world" and this woman illustrates how good character is not based on social class or education, but on something much more intrinsic. Even though she's a beggar, she has maintained her self-respect.

Jackie Shaeffer: One of the first things I thought was... it doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be a woman thing. I, for one, know plenty of women who could care less about the cleanliness of their own home, never mind the streets which they walk on.

Perhaps she is simply one of those human beings, both men and women alike, who long to see this world in its natural glory... where the sky was a clear blue and the grass was bright green.

It did remind me of the stories my mother told me about a small very old village in Guatemala she visited sometimes. She was always fascinated by how the people that lived there would sweep the front of the streets of their houses and how they all seemed to work together to keep the whole city clean. Can you imagine if all of us as humans cared that much to try to keep our cities clean? Can you imagine the amount of unity that could bring? Seeing something like that would be miraculous!

Marwa Tarek: "Way to go, dude" And considering that beggar, I guess she did that out of emptiness "faragh" -.- I mean if you took her back to the same situation again I guess 90% she wouldn’t make... that "effort" again I don’t know.

My Official Group on FaceBook:
 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14927509892&ref=ts

Book Reviews on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Darkness-Light-Literature-Spirituality/dp/1452010137/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

  

Your Native Writer,

Mahmoud Mansi.

-One of the Twenty Winners for the Literary Award / A SEA OF WORDS 2010

-HR Specialist / Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport

-International Author  / “A Journey from Darkness to Light”

Fragments of Me - Story by (Mahmoud Mansi) - Reviews - Criticism

© Mahmoud Mansi

Egypt / Alexandria / Gleem / 2009

Fragments of Me…

A Story about Alexandria,

I left the lights behind, and vanished through the darkness of the pure night. It was something much more mysterious than magic which called my name. I heard the sighs of the Mediterranean, whispering me back for an old reunion. I’ve just entered the forgotten zone of wonders. The breeze that I couldn’t exhale for years, took my spirit flying into another world. It’s been ages since I left the lights of the city, and explored a new variety. My native genes nostalgically awakened the lost feelings inside my heart. I looked at the wavy sea and the few scattered fishermen busy in its science. The young ones were wearing a moustache, while the eldest grew their beards. I stood still trying not to disturb their nature, and listened to their spoken words of wisdom. Such words could not be spoken by philosophers or written in any foreign literature books. How determinant they were! I wondered, “How life is so different here, while the city is just a few steps away!”

I looked to find the boats resting on the shore waiting for their next expedition. I wondered, what if we spent our sleep times dreaming about our next battle! Walking through them, and feeling the salt on their old wooden body, my eyes spotted their painted names. They were all names of their beloved ones and symbols of an unfound culture. Maybe those poor fishermen have no effective tools to change the city, but they still got the passion that doesn’t exist anymore in the bright citizens, and in me! I knew that the shore (that everyone sees but never approaches with a thoughtful spirit) was actually the real Alexandria! The spirit of magic that yet never died, but have become nearly extinct… We have been attached too much to the city with all its seducing lights and twinkling desires till we became part of it, while pulling one another to its vortex. The more we dive deeper, the more we move faster toward the center of such vortex, and that’s what life is like now; rapid circles that get narrower with each day!

I noticed that it’s only the sunset image that is seen from the seaside, but the huge buildings are always covering the first moments of the sunrise birth. Well that’s the way it always goes with human beings! You are always obligated to greet someone in school, work, street, club, and anywhere, but you only care about saying goodbye to the special ones! You never know when you can see them again. Well, by one way or another, the sun knew about that too! Maybe its rays were late in greeting the fishermen, but were always there for a passionate crimson goodbye. The fishermen knew about that too, that’s why the hidden view of the sunrise greetings didn’t bother them. How amazing!

I thought about the real Alexandria as a word, symbol, history, meaning, culture, and future… How original! I thought about The Lighthouse and how it guided the merchant, fishing and war ships. And I thought about the Great Castle, which took over its glory, and defended the loamy shores of the blessed city of science, art, and magic. Its existence longed for years, “But where was all that now?” It’s no more than a place to visit, watch, and add some words in the history books. Where did all the wonders of science, poetry, art, literature, love, and passion go to?

It’s the land and sea that saw the misery and couldn’t speak about it. The land released its germs. The sea refused to swallow our mistakes, and left it as a living evidence for our bloody crimes. We were born rich in an era, and had to live watching our wealth go with the next tide. We let it go, because the fake light twinkles tangled our greedy eyes. Our departure was the cause, leaving everything good behind, just gone with the wind. And in return, we struggled to reach a new goal, our desires. We became part of a ridicules game; perusing fashion, taste, colors, movies, cars, races, and any other kind of shallowness while leaving behind only one thing, “Our Life!!!”

I looked at my reflection, and saw the pathetic reality of the life I was living. I thought I was a leader of my own, I thought I was the master of any internal storm and I thought I was actually in control! But I turned out to be just another puppet, dancing for the pleasure of other puppets! No wonder those fishermen own such wisdom, it’s the ugly world they see every day while sailing with their boats. Studying more about a virus, would surely tend to realize a cure! That's what I thought about… I remembered, when there was a curious baby with energy all over his body, and trying to always touch a hot cup of tea while ignoring the orders of his parents; sometimes after all their plans would fail, they eventually leave the child touch the cup! Why did they do that, and still do? Is it cruelty? No it’s reality. When the child learned about the "bad", "danger", "threat", "weakness", I mean any kind of the spread "viruses" around… this child was able to be saved from its danger and its effects!

From this short expedition in the darkness of the shores, and on the gleam of the reflected moonlight I learned too much about my small city. The city which had been my home since I was born… The city that Alexander the Great once dreamt to make it the Capital of the World!

I glanced at the magnifying view once again, feeling so free, feeling so strong, and feeling like a native too! I’ve been breathing passionate magic for minutes. I wished to stay in this place forever, my real Alexandria. Nevertheless, I faced the lights once again, gave my back to the endless knowledge and walked away… knowing that I have a mission to do, a forgotten message to carry on, and a buried culture to resurrect…

• Published with Beyond Magazine / Cairo / July 2010.
• Published online with ActivYouth.com.

Reviews by my Readers,

Rasha Adel: "I thought I was the master of any internal storm and I thought I was actually in control! But I turned out to be just another puppet, dancing for the pleasure of other puppets!" this is so insightful on identity crisis of modern humanity... Beautiful work of art. Thanks for the share :)

Jenny Mitchell: Oh wow Mahmoud... I love this piece; it so reflects life in all its light and shadow. I was moved by your sunset images; your reference to the need to greet everyone, but only say goodbye to those who are special... but more so to your references to children's life lessons and how we teach our children, our efforts to shield them from the bad things in life, but in the end having to allow them experience it (your reference to a hot tea - it's very special to me as I have a very strong memory as a child needing to give my mother her hot tea and spilling it on myself and suffering burns as a result, even after my mother trying to tell me it was too hot for me to pick up).

Mahmoud, your words ring so true to me and mean so much to me. Aside from the obvious references to Alexandria and its lost written wisdom and the lighthouse... I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Alia Taher: Wow! It's amazing, Mahmoud! I like the profound reflections of self & world expounded here. As an Alexandrian, I can easily relate to the exquisite description of Alexandria as the city of magic, charm, beauty, discovery, revelation & inspiration. In relation to that, there is a beautiful poem entitled "Alexandria" written by Desmond O'Grady & published in his book, "My Alexandria."

I also think the title, "Fragments of Me" is very well chosen because I believe that it is very expressive of the feeling one gets when contemplating the sea. For, we all as humans feel very minute before its vastness & immensity. It fills us with awe & sublimity. Thus, the picture with the caption, "My Parlor of Inspiration," is very befitting of the halo of illumination the sea endows people with. A lovely, eye-opening work of art & great reflections on Alexandria by an Alexandrian writer :)

Enjy Maged Ashour: I think you should check out a song called “The Islander” by “Nightwish”….couldn’t help thinking about it (lyrics & video) while reading,

It’s true how amazing the wisdom of the fishermen is…”the ugly world they see every day while sailing with their boats” & the pirates they encounter on their adventures teach them how to understand & appreciate the buried treasures of life. We too as city people have our own pirates & ugliness to face & learn from but unfortunately we do not always learn our lessons & we still walk right towards the “light” traps just like bedazzled moths!!

What we truly need is to hop on board those “boats resting on the shore waiting for their next expedition”, set the sails & explore life, see the world with the eyes of fishermen…because experience is the only road to “knowledge” & “wisdom”…we need to be ourselves :“Native Alexandrians” & try to collect the “Fragments of [us]” to be whole again.

All in all, this is such a great & relatable piece written by a true fisherman. One day, more of us will truly see Alexandria’s wonders & untold tales…One day, Alexander the Great will return to us & lead the way…

I also think the title, "Fragments of Me" is very well chosen because I believe that it is very expressive of the feeling one gets when contemplating the sea . For, we all as humans feel very minute before its vastness & immensity. It fills us with awe & sublimity. Thus, the picture with the caption, "My Parlor of Inspiration," is very befitting of the halo of illumination the sea endows people with. A lovely, eye-opening work of art & great reflections on Alexandria by an Alexandrian writer :)

Carina Bastain de Souza: Very, very beautiful and wise. And the True Alexandria is always inside you, you were never far from it... you just forget the way for a while...

Noha Salah: I have to make an expedition in the city :)) I felt that I miss many things in it !! I liked every word in this story!! We must ask our selves about the history of this city and what is happening to it now...

Noha Khatib: Very impressive ... as we are created from this world soil and inhabit it we share with it a lot, I believe we all are affected by the place we grew up in it with a way or another it became an unseparated part of us in our personality and ...our way of thinking .. we are fascinated by the city with all its glowing and attractive things to the limit that it stated to haunt us to chain us with our own wish while on the other contrary we never can abandon the nature with its sea ... we share the sea, this very puzzling nature as he is hugged by the earth and its waves longing for spending sometime on earth's land but it still hold its dignity to be just as himself. I think your words echo with a way or another in everyone's own life ... I adore the spirit of this story a lot and also the powerful metaphors in your writings they always hit a nerve in a mysterious way :)) ...Very Nice short story .. keep it up and wish you the best of luck :)

Hanan El-Dakkak: I'm impressed!!!I love the depth of your vision of Alexandria, the sea, the people...I've always looked at the sea as the treasure of knowledge, wisdom and passion. Alexander the great saw the strength & greatness in the sea, the sun rise is... born through the sea and sets within its arms... Moses sailed the sea to learn from a privileged slave of Allah! What a gift Allah has bestowed to us, may we learn from the mysteries and deep wisdom of it. May we have it as a mirror to see our true selves, and the waves will only blur our contradictions that plain mirrors don't reflect.

Abu M.Yusuf: I am amazed with the fluidity of construction of scenes with words so nicely chosen. Alexandria is in our subconscious...a nostalgic reminiscence of prosperous past where humanity had excelled and that is not only fragment of you but fragment of us all, from the feel of magic you make. Thanks so much...lots of love & regards. Hope to read you more in near future, so please keep me in your list of readers.

Colette Frege: Despite the fact that Alexandria is facing a myriad of problems, there is still magic in this city as you say and this is why I stay! Enjoyed sharing your feelings.. Thanks.

May Kosba: "Nevertheless, I faced the lights once again, gave my back to the endless knowledge and walked away… knowing that I have a mission to do, a forgotten message to carry on, and a buried culture to resurrect…"

I love it... One thing stands out here is the strong sense of belonging to the place. There's a man who acknowledges mistakes of his kind and is willing to carry the burden of responsibility to enliven the culture and the Alexandiran identity..Awesome!

Marwa Fawzy Mahmoud: You resurrected Alexandria in your own so special way. Now, I understand what you meant by Native Writer. I never thought that a land can spark this stream of thoughts and pictersque words into the brain and sentiments of someone with such eloquence and grace.That was a beautiful piece really :))))

Salma Mohamed: Mahmoud. It's really great why don't you continue it as a story. I think you are great at describing what u see and mix it with feelings that bring the picture alive. I think it would be nice to consider a story in which the hero is a boat... for example and transfer what your eyes see and what your heart feels to the reader through the boat for example. REALLY GREAT. VERY PROUD.

My Official Group on FaceBook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14927509892&ref=ts

Book Reviews on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Darkness-Light-Literature-Spirituality/dp/1452010137/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_2

 With Pleasure, 

Your Native Writer,

Mahmoud Mansi .

-One of the Twenty Winners for the Literary Award / A SEA OF WORDS 2010

-HR Specialist / Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport

-International Author  / “A Journey from Darkness to Light”