Al-Ghitani’s newest novel transcends the World Wonder
The Great Pyramids of Giza have incited a bounty of theories and unsolved mysteries. Despite the abundance of knowledge archaeologists have amassed about the oldest surviving World Wonder, this hasn’t stopped the mounting speculation – from the utterly ridiculous to the impossibly illusive.
The enigmatic monuments are the central figure in writer Gamal Al-Ghitani’s novel “Pyramid Texts. He evokes their mysticism and their grandeur as the key to unravel the great mystery of existence. In a series of texts, he takes the reader on a quest to search for the divine.
A Moroccan sheikh spends years obsessively observing the pyramids in the first text, “Anticipation. He leaves his home, lives among strangers, all in an effort to return to his mentor one day with new knowledge, something “even those who had seen the pyramids with their own eyes and left detailed accounts of them in their writings, had not known.
Al-Ghitani punctuates his prose with aphorisms that jolt the reader, hinting that there is deeper meaning within their grasp. “Through persistence comes comprehension, provided there is commitment, he writes. Is he referring to the sheikh or the readers?
Seven young men enter the pyramid on an adventure to seek the unknown. They start off as a group, but along the way they are forced to proceed on the quest as individuals. Only alone can they face their demons and overcome the challenges. “One who came this far could only be alone, freed of all attachments. This instant, at this distance within the fathomless depths of the pyramid, brooked no companion.
In “Realization, the Caliph Ma’mun summons Master Ibn Al-Shihna to measure the Great Pyramid, only to be told that mysteriously the measurement at the midpoint is equal to that at its base. “My lord, the measurer explains, “there is no slope and no decrease.
In yet another text, “Ecstasy, a man and a woman enter the pyramids together and are overcome by a consuming desire. Unable to resist, they eventually crumble into something “both like and unlike cinders.
The Pyramid Texts are a collection of Ancient Egyptian religious texts dating back to the Old Kingdom, approximately 2350 BC, and are believed to have been compiled from inscriptions found in the pyramids. They explain the Egyptian view of the afterlife, and the Pharaoh’s divine ascent into the sky after death.
“‘How beautiful indeed is the sight, how pleasant indeed is the view,’ say they, say the gods. ‘The ascension of this god to heaven, the ascension of [the King] to heaven, his renown over him, his terror on both sides of him, his magic preceding him,’ reads text 306, for example.
The summit of the pyramid holds promise of that ascension, described by Al-Ghitani as “the point where the stones stop and the almost unimaginable infinite begins.
Al-Ghitani takes the reader on a similar ascension. The series of texts are arranged so that the first is the longest, and each successive text is shorter then its predecessor, eventually diminishing into nothingness. This literary maneuver mimics the pyramid’s structure, a large base whose apex tapers to a small point.
Al-Ghirani was born in Sohag in 1945. Born into a poor family, he apprenticed as a child with a carpet maker, and later worked in one of the Khan El-Khalili factories. In 1969 he moved to the news desk of Akhbar El-Youm, a leading daily. Today, he is editor of the influential literary weekly Akhbar El-Adab.
“Pyramid Texts continues Al-Ghitani’s own quest in his work for man’s place in the universe and in the temporal continuum. This short novel takes patience and focus to read. The reward, however, is well worth it. While the author’s conclusions are as elusive as the Pyramids, the path takes you on a spiritual journey that is substantial.
As the reader progresses through the texts, the literary path to the divine brings the reader almost within reach. But the final text reads “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Al-Ghitani’s conclusion is as elusive at the mystery of the Pyramids itself.
There are no easy answers to be found within the pages of a novel.
Pyramid TextsBy Gamal Al-GhitaniTranslated by Humphrey DaviesThe American University in Cairo Press, 2007
