بَائِعُ كُتُبٍ حَلَبِيٌّ يَحْفَظُ ذَاكِرَةَ مَدِينَتِهِ بِمَلْيُونِ كِتَابٍ
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فِي مَدِينَةِ حَلَبَ السُّورِيَّةِ، يَبْدَأُ رِزْقُ اللَّهِ عَبْدٌ، الْبَالِغُ مِنَ الْعُمْرِ إِحْدَى وَتِسْعِينَ سَنَةً، صَبَاحَهُ فِي مَتْجَرِهِ الصَّغِيرِ بِحَيِّ التَّلَلِ. يَجْلِسُ بَيْنَ رُفُوفٍ مُزْدَحِمَةٍ بِالْكُتُبِ، وَيُواصِلُ عَمَلًا بَدَأَهُ قَبْلَ نَحْوِ أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا.
وَقَدْ جَمَعَ خِلَالَ هٰذِهِ السِّنِينَ مَجْمُوعَةً يَقُولُ إِنَّهَا تَضُمُّ نَحْوَ مِلْيُونِ كِتَابٍ. وَتُوجَدُ فِي مَتْجَرِهِ مُؤَلَّفَاتٌ عَرَبِيَّةٌ، وَأُخْرَى بِالْفَرَنْسِيَّةِ وَالْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِ وَالْأَلْمَانِيَّةِ، إِلَى جَانِبِ مَخْطُوطَاتٍ وَكُتُبٍ يَزِيدُ عُمْرُ بَعْضِهَا عَلَى مِئَةِ عَامٍ.
يَحْتَفِظُ عَبْدٌ بِبَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ حَتَّى عِنْدَمَا تَكُونُ مُمَزَّقَةً أَوْ تَنْقُصُهَا صَفَحَاتٌ، لِأَنَّ لَهَا قِيمَةً تَارِيخِيَّةً. وَهُوَ يَجْمَعُ الْكُتُبَ الَّتِي يُهْمِلُهَا النَّاسُ أَوْ يَتْرُكُونَهَا مُهَدَّدَةً بِالضَّيَاعِ، ثُمَّ يُحَاوِلُ أَنْ يَجِدَ لَهَا قُرَّاءً جُدُدًا.
وَلَا يَقْتَصِرُ مَتْجَرُهُ عَلَى الْبَيْعِ؛ فَقَدْ صَارَ مَقْصِدًا لِلطُّلَّابِ وَالْبَاحِثِينَ وَمُحِبِّي الْقِرَاءَةِ الَّذِينَ يَبْحَثُونَ عَنْ عَنَاوِينٍ يَصْعُبُ الْعُثُورُ عَلَيْهَا فِي الْمَكْتَبَاتِ الْحَدِيثَةِ. وَيَقُولُ إِنَّ إِنْقَاذَ الْكُتُبِ النَّادِرَةِ مَسْؤُولِيَّةٌ، وَلِذٰلِكَ مَا زَالَ يَعْمَلُ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ رَغْمَ تَقَدُّمِهِ فِي السِّنِّ.
Show English Translation
Aleppo Bookseller Preserves His City’s Memory with One Million Books
In the Syrian city of Aleppo, Rizkullah Abd, aged ninety-one, begins his morning in his small shop in the Tilel neighbourhood. He sits among shelves crowded with books and continues work that he began nearly forty years ago.
Over these years, he has built a collection that he says contains about one million books. His shop holds Arabic works as well as books in French, English, and German, alongside manuscripts and books, some of which are more than one hundred years old.
Abd keeps some books even when they are torn or have missing pages because they have historical value. He collects books that people neglect or leave at risk of being lost, then tries to find new readers for them.
His shop is not limited to selling. It has become a destination for students, researchers, and reading lovers looking for titles that are difficult to find in modern libraries. He says saving rare books is a responsibility, and that is why he still works every day despite his advanced age.
Key Vocabulary
| Arabic | Part of speech | English |
|---|---|---|
| رُفُوفٍ | noun | shelves |
| مُزْدَحِمَةٍ | adjective | crowded |
| مَجْمُوعَةً | noun | collection |
| مُؤَلَّفَاتٌ | noun | works; publications |
| مَخْطُوطَاتٍ | noun | manuscripts |
| مُمَزَّقَةً | adjective | torn |
| مُهَدَّدَةً | adjective | threatened |
| الضَّيَاعِ | noun | loss; disappearance |
| الْبَاحِثِينَ | noun | researchers |
| النَّادِرَةِ | adjective | rare |
| مَسْؤُولِيَّةٌ | noun | responsibility |
Sources
- Anadolu Agency: مليون كتاب وابن مفقود.. تسعيني حلبي يحفظ الذاكرة ويرقب اللقاء (تقرير)
- Anadolu Agency Photo Gallery: مليون كتاب وابن مفقود.. تسعيني حلبي يحفظ الذاكرة ويرقب اللقاء
This learner article is an original summary based on the sources above. The featured image is an AI-generated editorial illustration.