The completion of Khan al-Khalili in 1945 marked a turning point in Naguib Mahfouz's career. Departing from the traditional themes drawn from Egyptian antiquity that characterize the author's earlier works, Khan al-Khalili reflects instead a deep concern with the lives and problems of contemporary Egyptians. The time is 1942, the Second World War is at its height, and the Africa Campaign is raging along the northern coast of Egypt as far as El Alamein. Against this backdrop of international upheaval, the novel tells the ...
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The completion of Khan al-Khalili in 1945 marked a turning point in Naguib Mahfouz's career. Departing from the traditional themes drawn from Egyptian antiquity that characterize the author's earlier works, Khan al-Khalili reflects instead a deep concern with the lives and problems of contemporary Egyptians. The time is 1942, the Second World War is at its height, and the Africa Campaign is raging along the northern coast of Egypt as far as El Alamein. Against this backdrop of international upheaval, the novel tells the story of the Akifs, a middle-class family that has taken refuge in Cairo's historic and bustling Khan al-Khalili neighborhood. Believing that the German forces will never bomb such a famously religious part of the city, they seek safety among the crowded alleyways, busy caf???s, and ancient mosques of the Khan, adjacent to the area where Mahfouz himself spent much of his young life. Through the eyes of Ahmad, the eldest Akif son and the novel's central character, Mahfouz presents a richly textured vision of the Khan, drawing on his own memories to assemble a lively cast of characters whose world is framed by the sights, smells, and flavors of his childhood home. As Ahmad, a minor civil servant who has sacrificed both education and personal ambition in order to support his family, interacts with the people and traditions of Khan al-Khalili, a debate emerges that pits old against new, history against modernity, and faith against secularism. Addressing one of the fundamental questions of the modern era, Mahfouz asks whether, like the German bombs that threaten Khan al-Khalili daily, progress must necessarily be accompanied by the destruction of the past. Fans of Midaq Alley, The Beginning and the End, and The Cairo Trilogy will not want to miss this engaging and sensitive portrayal of a family at the crossroads of the old world and the new.
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Add this copy of Khan Al-Khalili: a Novel (Modern Arabic Novels to cart. $11.30, very good condition, Sold by Half Price Books Inc rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by The American University in Cairo.
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Add this copy of Khan Al-Khalili to cart. $29.96, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by American University in Cairo Press.
Add this copy of Khan Al-Khalili (First Edition) to cart. $35.00, like new condition, Sold by Dan Pope Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from WEST Hartford, CT, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, New York..
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Fine in Fine jacket. Cloth. First printing. Correct number line, including the 1. A fine book in a fine dust jacket. A tight copy, without any marks or defects. Dust jacket is clean and bright. Comes with archival-quality dust jacket protector. Shipped in well padded box.
Add this copy of Khan Al-Khalili to cart. $36.16, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2008 by American University in Cairo Press.
Add this copy of Khan Al-Khalili to cart. $37.95, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Gro.
