Death and Funeral
Prior to his death, Mahfouz was the oldest living Nobel Literature laureate and the third oldest of all time, trailing only Bertrand Russell and Halldor Laxness. At the time of his death, he was the only Arabic-language writer to have won the Nobel Prize. In July 2006, Mahfouz sustained an injury to his head as a result of a fall. He remained ill until his death on 30 August 2006 in a Cairo hospital. In his old age, he became nearly blind, and though he continued to write, he had difficulties in holding a pen or a pencil. Prior to his death, he suffered from a bleeding ulcer, kidney problems, and cardiac failure. He was accorded a state funeral with full military honors on 31 August 2006. His funeral took place in the Al-Rashdan Mosque in Nasr City in Cairo.
Read more about this topic: Naguib Mahfouz
Famous quotes containing the words death and/or funeral:
“The death of William Tecumseh Sherman, which took place to-day at his residence in the city of New York at 1 o’clock and 50 minutes p.m., is an event that will bring sorrow to the heart of every patriotic citizen. No living American was so loved and venerated as he.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“I asked if I got sick and died, would you
With my black funeral go walking too,
If you’d stand close to hear them talk or pray
While I’m let down in that steep bank of clay.”
—J.M. (John Millington)