"The best companion at all" is under the bridge

On a well-netted chair, surrounded by an army of books around him, beneath Jisr Al-Rais (President’s Bridge) in the center of the Syrian capital, Damascus, the old man Akram Kalthoum, known as Abu Talal, sits with a plate in front of him that reads “The best companion at all is a book”.

His wrinkles tell a novel where the time, which if you don’t cut it, it cuts you, has drawn its events with clearly visible lines on his face.

He says: “If we had people who read books, we wouldn’t have reached this stage, we have become nothing only consumed communities”.

The man pauses for a moment to smoke one of national brands cigarettes in the package that he pulled out of his pocket with the wavering of an awaiting person, as he resumed his speech prior to lighting up his cigarette, “the people of (Reading), don’t read”.

“Just as you strengthen your body’s muscles, you have to promote your mind”, Abu Talal said, “the books of human development, Ahlam Mesteghanemi are the most demanded books by young people nowadays, actually these books do not benefit them”, he sighed and exhaled some words in a sorrowful tone, “Alas!”

“The books’ seller should be a reader at first, if not, he’d better go and sell tomatoes,” Abu Talal commented on his profession, he added, “because I am a laborer, I chose this profession, I’m a worker and a reader”.

Pointing to a place a few meters away, saying: “There, a shell fell in 2013, but I didn’t leave my place, because this is our land and we have no other option but to stay”.

Abu Talal, the books’ seller and a top reader at the same time, although he holds a certificate of basic education, yet he’s eloquent, and says that he doesn’t dare to write, he also has a beautiful handwriting, and prefer to read books “which talk about religious problems that stimulate the mind to think”, as he described.

“Reading is a real queen who needs to have all your strength, which is a thing that we miss nowadays,” he continued saying, “to be a professional smart reader who has a deep look at what you read, is better than being a writer”.

However, Abu Talal considers himself as only a book seller, and describes himself as a failed trader.

“The book seller is like the wind that drives the sail, and I’m driving the reader towards meaningful readings”, he concluded.