clear historical period in mind. Qindil travels to the Halba following Haira, Halba is the land of freedom. Halba may represent Western civilization, and includes democracy, wealth, and sophistication. Halba eventually conquers both Mashriq and Haira; plausibly mirroring the historical rise of the West. Qindil then travels to Aman; the land of security and total justice. Aman employs communism and is engaged with a struggle for influence against Halba; an interesting parallel to the time the book was written in 1983. Finally Qindil stops at Ghuroub; the land of the sunset. Ghuroub is interesting, as it has no obvious parallel in the real world. It is a transitory place, where people train to go forth to the land of Gebel. Qindil then journeys to the Land of Gebel, which is at the top of a mountain. Gebel symbolizes heaven on Earth. No man has ever returned from Gebel, the land of perfect society. Some of the places mentioned in the book, such as Gebel, Haira and Mashriq were names of historical kingdoms in the Classical and Medieval Middle East. They are not just analogies but also references to the real, if much mythologised past. Analysis Mahfouz turned away from Western literature and looked to Arabic modes for narrative inspiration. Medieval Arabic influence was shown in the story's episodic style with little interest in a central plot. Mahfouz used the Journey of Ibn Battuta as an inspiration but his character, Ibn Fattouma travels through time, not space. Each land fits into the evolution of civilization. The Journey is an allegory for Mahfouz's search for a perfect socio-political system. Each land was named after its time in the history of man; Mashriq was sunrise, Haira bewilderment, Halba arena, Aman security, Ghuroub sunset, and Gebel mountain. This story ends in the present as it is fitting that it does not continue into the future. Mahfouz shows the progression of man from undeveloped to modern, developed civilizations. The land of Mashriq (or Sunrise in the original text) represents the origin of human society. A tribal land, it has an animist religion and the people live comparatively simply to Qindil's homeland. Next in the progression is the land of Haira (or Bewilderment), a land representing the transition to absolute monarchies in the course of human civilization. Haira incites a war against Mashriq, triumphs and promptly takes over it, showing the spread of monarchy as well