Naguib Mahfouz's daughter donates 257 translated editions of his works to museum
Mohammed Saad, , Thursday 13 Feb 2020
The collection includes handwritten documents as well as the original translation of Mahfouz's novel Children of Gebelawy, which was published in 1970 in English


Writer Naguib Mahfouz's only surviving daughter, Umm Kulthum, has donated 257 books of various translated editions of works by her late Nobel winning father to his newly opened museum, which is located in Islamic Cairo and is housed in Tekkyiet Abul-Dahab.

The donations include translated editions of Mahfouz's works in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish and Chinese, as well as a handwritten paper that contains a short story.

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Most notably, the donation includes the original translation of Mahfouz's novel Children of Gebelawy, which was published in 1970 in English, in addition to some handwritten documents, including a paper titled 'A Suggestion for a New System to Create Political Parties,' and the writer's famous coat.

Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem expressed her pleasure over the new addition to the museum, saying that Mahfouz will always be remembered as an icon in the history of global creativity. The minister asserted that there is constant coordination with Mahfouz's family to ensure the addition of more of Mahfouz belongings to the museum.

The museum was opened on 14 July 2019, 13 years after the renowned writer's passing.

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The museum is in the Muhammad Bek Abul-Dahab Complex, which was built in 1774 under Ottoman rule and is located beside the main entrance of Al-Azhar Mosque.

The museum takes up two stories and includes a wing for Mahfouz's medals and honours, as well as a wing for his personal belongings and handwritten documents. Mahfouz's books, both old and modern editions, have their own section, and a library holds most of what has been written about Mahfouz. The museum also has a cinema and a seminar room.

On its opening, Mahfouz's daughter gave the museum her father's Nobel Prize certificate and the case in which the golden medal came, but kept the medal itself as "it was a gift from my father to me." Mahfouz's initials are engraved on the grey box.

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The museum includes hundreds of pictures, documents and honours belonging to the late writer.

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https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/363462.aspx