Papa Sartre: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature) by Ali Bader Page A
Book: Papa Sartre: A Modern Arabic Novel (Modern Arabic Literature) by Ali Bader
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Authors: Ali Bader
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disappear around the corner of the street as quickly as exploding sticks of dynamite.
Sometimes the two men would stop at the end of the street, where there was an abundance of bordellos with long queues of gentlemen waiting to pull down their elegant pants. Some of the women in question appeared in corsets, while others poured their bath water at the thresholds of their rooms, laughing noisily.
14
Abd al-Rahman and Ismail went out daily, either in a taxi, or a carriage drawn by two gray horses for a fare not more than one dirham. They liked to use a carriage to take them from the nightclub near the Roxy cinema to King Ghazi Street and back. Each would sit in a corner of the carriage as they rode through the crowded streets of the residential areas, between the heavily scented eucalyptus trees, talking with the driver about bootleg arrack and imported whiskey. The narrow streets surrounding them were filled with women in black abayas, imitation jewelry shining under their sleeves. When the carriage reached Zubayda Square, it made its way with great difficulty, as it was hampered by throngs of people, especially children playing in the streets. Women sat on the thresholds of their quarters or peered from their half-open windows; others sat on the roofs. The carriage driver, who wore a scarf tied over his head and whipped the horses’ flanks, quarreled with the grocers, silk merchants, and rabble who lined the street before he took Abd al-Rahman and Ismail to Grief Adab, where Dalal Masabni was waiting for them.
15
Dalal Masabni was the most famous dancer of her time. She was born in Baghdad of a Lebanese mother named Aida Qastali and an Iraqi father. The mother was known for her impetuosity and adventures, but the father’s identity was unknown. Some believedthat he was a tradesman of great repute in Mosul and was hiding in Baghdad under the false name of Abd al-Hamid al-Hashemi. After the departure of his wife and his fifteen-year-old daughter to Lebanon, he left the house he had rented for them and went to Iran. There, traces of him disappeared forever. Aida didn’t like living in Beirut, so a year later she went to America with a man she had met in one of the gambling halls. She placed her daughter Dalal in the care of a famous drug trafficker who called himself Sami al-Khouri. He was none other than the well-known drug kingpin who was featured on the pages of the international press in the sixties and who gave Interpol a run for its money with his capers and large-scale trafficking. He had a special inclination for beautiful women and finally fell in love with the French singer Maria Vincent, whom he met at the Cordon Bleu nightclub in Istanbul.
The fact is that Dalal had met Sami on al-Hamra Street in Ras Beirut long before he had become famous. She was fifteen years old and had just arrived with her mother. It was Samira Shuwayri, Beirut’s most famous belle at the time, who introduced her to Sami. Despite her youth, Dalal worked as a professional dancer at the Masabni nightclub. She soon left her job at the club to live in the luxurious apartment that Sami owned in the Roche. Her long blond hair, thin figure, narrow waist, and calm gaze attracted much attention. All of Beirut was talking about the new girl who went riding around with the drug dealer in his Cadillac and ate dinner with him at the Cave restaurant. They used to sit in a dark corner drinking champagne. After midnight they’d go to the casino to gamble. She stood near him holding two glasses of whiskey, one for her and one for him. She gave his whiskey to him to drink one sip at a time, still holding the glass. Two years later Dalal’s photograph appeared on the front page of the local Lebanese papers, and other Arab newspapers as well, standing close to Sami after he was caught in the largest-ever hashish smuggling operation to Cairo.
16
Dalal was arrested at the Regent Hotel in Cairo. She was a nervous wreck, trying to control her shakes with
Sometimes the two men would stop at the end of the street, where there was an abundance of bordellos with long queues of gentlemen waiting to pull down their elegant pants. Some of the women in question appeared in corsets, while others poured their bath water at the thresholds of their rooms, laughing noisily.
14
Abd al-Rahman and Ismail went out daily, either in a taxi, or a carriage drawn by two gray horses for a fare not more than one dirham. They liked to use a carriage to take them from the nightclub near the Roxy cinema to King Ghazi Street and back. Each would sit in a corner of the carriage as they rode through the crowded streets of the residential areas, between the heavily scented eucalyptus trees, talking with the driver about bootleg arrack and imported whiskey. The narrow streets surrounding them were filled with women in black abayas, imitation jewelry shining under their sleeves. When the carriage reached Zubayda Square, it made its way with great difficulty, as it was hampered by throngs of people, especially children playing in the streets. Women sat on the thresholds of their quarters or peered from their half-open windows; others sat on the roofs. The carriage driver, who wore a scarf tied over his head and whipped the horses’ flanks, quarreled with the grocers, silk merchants, and rabble who lined the street before he took Abd al-Rahman and Ismail to Grief Adab, where Dalal Masabni was waiting for them.
15
Dalal Masabni was the most famous dancer of her time. She was born in Baghdad of a Lebanese mother named Aida Qastali and an Iraqi father. The mother was known for her impetuosity and adventures, but the father’s identity was unknown. Some believedthat he was a tradesman of great repute in Mosul and was hiding in Baghdad under the false name of Abd al-Hamid al-Hashemi. After the departure of his wife and his fifteen-year-old daughter to Lebanon, he left the house he had rented for them and went to Iran. There, traces of him disappeared forever. Aida didn’t like living in Beirut, so a year later she went to America with a man she had met in one of the gambling halls. She placed her daughter Dalal in the care of a famous drug trafficker who called himself Sami al-Khouri. He was none other than the well-known drug kingpin who was featured on the pages of the international press in the sixties and who gave Interpol a run for its money with his capers and large-scale trafficking. He had a special inclination for beautiful women and finally fell in love with the French singer Maria Vincent, whom he met at the Cordon Bleu nightclub in Istanbul.
The fact is that Dalal had met Sami on al-Hamra Street in Ras Beirut long before he had become famous. She was fifteen years old and had just arrived with her mother. It was Samira Shuwayri, Beirut’s most famous belle at the time, who introduced her to Sami. Despite her youth, Dalal worked as a professional dancer at the Masabni nightclub. She soon left her job at the club to live in the luxurious apartment that Sami owned in the Roche. Her long blond hair, thin figure, narrow waist, and calm gaze attracted much attention. All of Beirut was talking about the new girl who went riding around with the drug dealer in his Cadillac and ate dinner with him at the Cave restaurant. They used to sit in a dark corner drinking champagne. After midnight they’d go to the casino to gamble. She stood near him holding two glasses of whiskey, one for her and one for him. She gave his whiskey to him to drink one sip at a time, still holding the glass. Two years later Dalal’s photograph appeared on the front page of the local Lebanese papers, and other Arab newspapers as well, standing close to Sami after he was caught in the largest-ever hashish smuggling operation to Cairo.
16
Dalal was arrested at the Regent Hotel in Cairo. She was a nervous wreck, trying to control her shakes with
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