As Egypt declared forty days of mourning for Saad Zaghloul’s death, on the fringes of Cairo in the 1920s, beneath the poverty line in the Rabaa El-Roz district of Bulaq, over two thousand people lived unseen—ignored by society and denied even a foothold on the social ladder. Here, superstitions rule as absolute truth.

Rabaa El-Roz, one of Cairo’s largest slums, is a world unto itself. We follow its characters into the hidden depths of Cairene society—a shadow city governed by outlaws and folklore, where whispers in coffeehouses and women’s bathhouses weave a web of secrets. The novel opens with the burning of “Setta,” a beggar woman, on the day of Saad Pasha’s death. The escalating events unravel the fates of three women: What happened in the past? The flying secrets ensnare the quarter’s residents like a spider’s trap.

The narrative swings between past and present, reaching back to 1924—the year Sir Lee Stack was assassinated—as the entry point for these women into Rabaa El-Roz. Their intertwined histories expose a society that preaches utopia while burying its truths.

Join us for a discussion and signing with author Shaimaa Ghoneim:
📅 Monday, May 12, 2025
⏰ 7:00 PM
📍 Jesuit Cultural Center, Alexandria

About the Author

Shaimaa Ghoneim
Journalist and writer, contributor to TV programs and documentaries on marginalized Cairo neighborhoods (El-Hattaba and Souq El-Silah). Formerly part of the Arabic Music Festival and Film Society teams. Her unpublished debut novel Abwab Nagia was shortlisted for the 2022 Khairy Shalby Novel Award. Rabaa El-Roz (Al-Ain Publishing, 2024) was longlisted for the 2025 Sheikh Zayed Book Award (Young Author category). Her latest, Mashrabiyat Zohzhan, debuted at the 2025 Cairo International Book Fair.

Moderator

Mostafa Zaki
Alexandria-born writer and translator (Philosophy BA). Author of three short story collections (A Scene from Cairo’s Night, Birds Eat from His Head, Messiah of Bab Zuweila) and translator of 10 Ideas to Conquer Racism (YA) and The Big Sleep (novel). Winner of multiple awards, including the Sawiris Literary Prize (twice), Cultural Development Fund Prize, and Egypt’s Writers Union Prize.

🎟 Free admission (registration required)

AI generated translation.