51 Quotes by Ahdaf Soueif

The air is dry and light and its effect on the mind is similar to that of a glass of Champagne before dinner.

And Egypt ? What is Egypt strenght?her resilience ?her ability to absorb poeple and events into the pores of her being? is that true or is it just a consolation ? a shifting of responsibility? and if it is true , how much can she absorb and still remain Egypt ?

I haven't come to you only to take , I haven't come to you empty handed : I bring you poetry as great as yours but in anther tongue , I bring you black eyes and golden skin and curly hair , I bring you Islam and Luxor and Alexandria and Lutes and tambourines and date-palms and silk rugs and sunshine and incense and voluptuous ways

What's twenty years, fifty years in the life of Egypt? As long as some of us hold on and do what we can.

But she was not able to bring him peace of mind. It was as though he was angry that his happy private life should exist within the public circumstances that he hated. Or as though he longed that his personal happiness should extend to encompass all of Egypt.

And Egypt?What is Egypt's strength? Her resilience? Her ability to Her ability to absorb people and events into the pores of her being? Is that true or is it just a consolation? A shifting of responsibility? And if it is true, how much can she absorb and still remain Egypt?

سيكونون في ورطة. ليس لديهم برنامج سياسي أبعد من "الإسلام هو الحل". اسألهم عن أي تفاصيل لا تجد عندهم إجابة.

حب، احب، يحب. عشق يعني حب يربط اثنين معا، شغف هو حب يعشش في حجرات القلب، هيام هو حب يطوف الأرض، تيه يعني حب تفقد فيه نفسك، وَلَهٌ هو حب يحمل الأسى في طياته، صبابة تعني حب ينضح من المسام، هوى حب يشترك بالاسم مع الهواء ومع السقوط، والغرام هو حب على استعداد لدفع الثمن.

She needs to leave him alone when he wants to be left alone. But then, do they meet in order for him to be left alone? Do they take trains and aeroplanesand drive for hours so that he should be left alone? If what he wants is to be left alone, then why do they meet at all? Everybody worries so about separation, but the problem is not the separations; it is how they are when they're together.