worth of experiences in one short novel. He is considered as one of the most western of contemporary Arab novelists. Naguib Mahfouz, the author of The Journey of Ibn Fattouma, portrays himself in his writing, and in the lands and characters of the novel. The revolution of 1999 in Egypt influenced Mahfouz and inspired him to place a symbol of rebellion in the lands Qindil visits. Qindil travels to Mashriq, and discovers the underlying rules and restrictions of the seemingly free and open land. He rebels against the land's religion and attempts to teach his son the Islamic faith. As a result, Qindil is exiled and sent away on the next caravan that arrives. Similar to the revolution in Egypt, Qindil did not aggressively revolt using violence and anger. He was reserved and subtle in his actions. While The Journey of Ibn Fattouma symbolizes the development of human history, it also reflects the author and his connection to the Egyptian Revolution. The novel is centered around a young traveler, Ibn Fattouma, who closely resembles a 14th-century traveler, Ibn Battuta. While Battuta did not travel to lands similar to those in the novel, his personality and background matched Fattouma's. Ibn Battuta's purpose was to see how the Islamic religion was perceived and practiced in different parts of the world. Ibn Fattouma was based on this real person, Ibn Battuta, who shared with him many similarities. Symbolism Cities: Gebel: Gebelf perfection. “The Homeland”: It represents where Qindil's values came from Mashriq: Represents the dawn of civilization and primitive values Haira: Represents bewilderment and confusion Halba: Represents Freedom and western (mainly American) culture Aman: Represents equality in a modern communist government Ghuroub: Peace and meditation Characters: Quindil: Represents humanity Fam: Guide/Leaders in society Arousa: Distraction Samia: Women's rights and intellect Ham: The effect of propaganda on society Notes Journey Of Ibn Fattouma, The Journey Of Ibn Fattouma, The Egyptian English-language novels Arabic-language novels Doubleday (publisher) books