“كثير من الناس يعيشون طويلا في الماضي، والماضي منصة للقفز لا أريكة للاسترخاء Most people live way too long in the past. The past is a springboard to jump forward from, not a sofa to relax on”
— Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm (1898-1987) - An Egyptian writer & playwright. Born to an Egyptian father and a Turkish mother, he had an insight into the lives of both the Egyptian peasants and Turkish elite. He contributed to evolution of a distinctly Arab Egyptian drama. In addition to his plays, he is best known for his 1933 novel ʿAwdat al-Rūḥ [Return of the Spirit]; a light-hearted depiction of the 1919 revolution from the point of view of an Egyptian teen.
