Last night I took my dictionary to a bookbinder behind Al-Azhar, wandered around the old quarter off the main drag and saw thousands of hash dealers. The prices aren’t low, the quality is fair, but it’s fun to see so much cash business conducted over greasy tables. At dusk before an orange sky I saw the minarets in silhouette and it really struck me. Despite the crazy traffic and exhaust fumes, the crowds of people are almost invigorating.
-Letter Home, November 5, 1978
I liked the Arabic word for Dictionary, Qāmūs, because it sounded so much like Nightmare, Kābūs. Both were mine, bound in green leather behind the Azhar.