Kamil Idris, a man proud of his nomad ancestry, survived child labouring in darkened factories, boyhood journeys to Cairo balanced on the top of trains, hazardous treks to Europe in his teens, capture and death threats from piratical Nile fishermen who thought he was an evil spirit or djinn, and even being stranded in the ferocious heat of the Nubian desert. In later life, he was arrested and placed under house surveillance with his immediate family, because of his views on human rights and political reform.
Inspired by a promise to Nelson Mandela to write his memoir, the book is a cameo of a loving family devastated by a series of tragedies, of ancient souks, camel markets, eccentric characters, philosopher kings, and his father's tales of the earliest days of Africa, Nubia and the first wanderings of mankind. As a child, Kamil was taken to Meroe to gaze at the remains of the fabulous Kingdom of Kush which boasts twice as many pyramids as Egypt. Moreover, recent excavations are lifting a veil on the rediscovery of Sudan's astonishing Black Pharaohs, who once ruled over the whole of north east Africa and beyond over two and a half thousand years ago.
Above all the memoir is a magnificent celebration of and a tribute to Kamil's beloved and enduring River Nile, which he sees as a metaphor for all our destinies. It is an incredible story.
