On the night of 6 October 2023, I was sitting in my home in the Gaza City neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa, engrossed in a book on Greek mythology.
I was reading about the myth of Achilles, a legendary hero whose body was immune to harm from arrows. His only weak point was his heel, which was the reason for his death in battle. Hence the term Achilles’ heel.
I was sitting in my chair in my beloved library, surrounded by the comforting presence of my collection of books. It was a collection started by my father, Omar al-Safadi, an avid collector of rare volumes, encyclopedias and dictionaries.
Following in his footsteps, I devoted myself to gathering hundreds of books across genres, often prioritizing literary treasures over souvenirs during my travels.
The sheer quantity of books I’ve purchased during trips even led customs officers to mistake me for a merchant…..more
