"It was a steamingly hot July night, the Nile that year having experienced one of those floodings that occur once ever…"

"But I would hope you will not entertain the idea, dear sirs, that Mustafa Sa'eed had become an obsession that was eve…"

"It is a chaotic house, built without method, and has acquired its present form over many years: many differently-size…"

"They are my responsibility, and one of the reasons that brings me here each year is to see how they are getting on."

"I told him that Mustafa Sa'eed was a lie. 'Do you want to know the truth about Mustafa Sa'eed?' I said to him with an…"

"I had not thought of the boys during the whole of the ghastly journey. I had been thinking of her. Again I said to Ma…"

"I had put out the candles and locked the door of the room and that of the courtyard without doing anything. Another f…"

"Haneen is often seen traveling around with no possessions, food, or people for he is “a pious man wholly dedicated to…"

"Although many people feel depressed when they see him, (because he reminds them of death, the afterlife, and prayers."

"To the people, he is not a person, but an institution"