Chapter Three
2
Through Frankfurt
Because my time was short and I was running in many directions, I did not fulfil my wish to visit my many family members, friends, and in-laws in Cairo. I could not attend the communal Friday breakfast with the dear Sheikh Al-Din Mukhtar of Mishkila, the first commissioner of Dalqo Locality in the proud Atbara region, nor could I satisfy my longing to meet my beloved Mohammed Morsi of Artemari, Sayyid Jaafar of Ardawan, and others whom circumstances and the passage of time had placed far from me. I was happy, however, to visit the gracious Kamel Nasr and Al-Fadil Mohammed Haroun. I stayed alone in my spacious flat, while keeping in warm contact with Ali Al-Sayyid and Nader Hamed.
Circumstances allowed me to visit the dear Abdel-Wahid Ezz Al-Din and his family and spend a pleasant time with them. After saying goodbye, I returned to the flat. The streets were shining with the celebratory welcome of Ramadan as I carried my luggage to the new Cairo International Airport, where my baggage weighed exactly the permitted 23 kilograms. At several points we were searched, along with the things we carried, and our coronavirus-free certificates were checked.
At one in the morning, a brilliant Lufthansa aircraft lifted us into the air. The German airline had left Khartoum for a time after having served it for many years. The plane was full, mostly with foreigners. After four hours in the sky, it gradually descended toward Frankfurt. I saw the city from the window as the first Ramadan morning appeared: its lights shone and moved between transparent tones and red-tinged brown, while high-rise buildings rose above the economic capital of Germany, its industrial stronghold and the seat of the European Central Bank. The city stretched along the Main River, while Berlin stood as Germany’s political capital after its move from Bonn following reunification. Many consider Frankfurt one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.
It is well known that Germany is Europe’s strongest economic power and that its industries set a standard. Its scientists helped raise both America and Russia; is it enough to mention Mercedes or Volkswagen, the third-largest company after Toyota and General Motors, which inspectors once used in the Gezira Scheme? We left the aircraft and presented our documents to officials who allowed us to proceed. We then passed through a personal search and a check of my hand luggage, which led to a hall with a huge display listing dozens of departing and arriving flights. I found the Seattle flight at the top. The departure hall for it was numbered Z58. And so I continued with the other travellers…
Welcome, my friends; the warmth of home is yours.