She liked a man who smoked a pipe and wore well-used tweed jackets and desert boots.
She liked Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and Sayyid Darwish and Simon and Garfunkel and the old songs of Abd-el-Wahab.
She had stong views on almost everything.
She had great faith in our country.
She was very pretty, delicate and warm. She was also kind and considerate.
She had a wonderful, fairytale-ish atmosphere about her. It frightened me. I thought it unsuitable for the times.
She was well read.
She was committed.
She had a good sense of humour.
She was adventurous and had courage. But at the same time she was very careful with people’s feelings and beliefs, and was forgiving, especially to me.

- From In the eye of the sun by Ahdaf Souief

A story can start from the oddest things: a magic lamp, a conversation overheard, a shadow moving on a wall. For Amal al-Ghamrawi, this story started with a trunk. An old-fashioned trunk made of brown leather, cracked now and dry, with a vaulted top over which run two straps fastened with brass buckles black with age and neglect.

- From The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif