The path of the drowning

Author's name: Reem Bassiouni

Today your old world has ended... and all paths have been erased... and all routes have been wiped out... all your days have vanished... and nothing remains for you but drowning." - Why did the British cannons bombard the Mamluk Sultan Qaitbay's citadel in Alexandria? - Because they remember and you forget. How sad you are! We met before, Hassan. But your memory has been erased... You will return... and when you return, your pain will extend beyond all seas. You are Hassan and the madman. Do you know this? They are the same person. But your true nature has not been revealed to you, and that is better. I knew you from the letters of the Merchant of Venice that I carry. - Hassan looked at the citadel for a long time, then said... Who built this citadel? - It was built by a man who owned all the roads at the time until someone else discovered a new road and his road became miserable. How can you not remember? The Portuguese went around Africa to avoid the road to Egypt... Then a Frenchman came thinking of a new, shorter, faster road that would make all roads below it worthless... And do you know where he found this road? In Egypt. The English objected to the road and said it would not He succeeds, but he succeeds.. and shortens the road to India by thousands of miles.. What do the English do? The sea route is fast, but it is on land other than theirs, built by others. The road.. is the goal.. always - repeat: The road is the goal. Not debts nor protection.. nor