The Cairo Trilogy

work by Mahfouz

Also known as: “Al-Thulathiyya”

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June 22, 2026

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The Cairo Trilogy is a renowned series of novels by Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, who was the first Arabic writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988. The trilogy, comprising Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street, chronicles the lives of three generations of a Cairo family from World War I to the 1952 military coup. It offers a profound depiction of 20th-century Egyptian society, exploring shifts in thought, attitudes, and social change. Mahfouz's work critically examines Egyptian society, touching on themes of monarchy, colonialism, and contemporary issues, solidifying the novel's maturity within Arabic literature.12

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Naguib Mahfouz
…Al-Thulāthiyyah (1956–57; “Trilogy”), known as The Cairo Trilogy. Its three novels—Bayn al-qaṣrayn (1956; Palace Walk), Qaṣr al-shawq (1957; Palace of Desire), and Al-Sukkariyyah (1957; Sugar Street)—depict the lives of three generations of different families in Cairo from World War I until after the 1952 military coup that overthrew King Farouk.…
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…Al-Thulāthiyyah (1956–57; “Trilogy”), known as The Cairo Trilogy. Its three novels—Bayn al-qaṣrayn (1956; Palace Walk), Qaṣr al-shawq (1957; Palace of Desire), and Al-Sukkariyyah (1957; Sugar Street)—depict the lives of three generations of different families in Cairo from World War I until after the 1952 military coup that overthrew King Farouk.…
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Arabic literature
The novel
…culminated in the justly famous Cairo Trilogy (1956–57). He then turned to a more symbolic mode in his novels of the 1960s (with examples such as Al-Liṣṣ wa al-kilāb [1961; The Thief and The Dogs] and Thartharah fawq al-Nīl [1966; “Chatter on the Nile”]). Thereafter he participated with the members…
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…culminated in the justly famous Cairo Trilogy (1956–57). He then turned to a more symbolic mode in his novels of the 1960s (with examples such as Al-Liṣṣ wa al-kilāb [1961; The Thief and The Dogs] and Thartharah fawq al-Nīl [1966; “Chatter on the Nile”]). Thereafter he participated with the members…
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