By Naguib Mahfouz For me the Eid is very much like the rest of the year. My days are all the same now. My routine involves submitting to medical treatment at fixed times, and I can only see friends at certain hours. Nothing changes from day to day, so whether it is Eid or not my life is unchanged. Ramadan is just like the Eid. I'm no longer able to do the things that I used to love. During Ramadan I used to spend almost every night at Al- Fishawi coffee shop in Al-Hussein with my friends. It was only when we heard the dawn prayers that we would begin to make our way home. And I used to read a lot in Ramadan, especially before Iftar. I read Sufi poetry mainly, which I used to love, getting through hundreds of verses. But what I miss most about Ramadan is fasting. My health doesn't allow me to fast any more. It's fasting that gives the whole month its special atmosphere. Without it, Ramadan is just another month, like Shaaban. Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
