BY THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST WAEL EL-SEMRY. Nations are built on dreams, yet once realized, the dreamers themselves are often forgotten. Inspired by rare, newly discovered archives, The Curse of the Khawaja uncovers the extraordinary true story of Adrian Daninos, the Greek-Egyptian visionary who first conceived the Aswan High Dam. Half a century later, a disillusioned investigative journalist on the brink of collapse stumbles upon Daninos’s long-lost private documents. What begins as a desperate attempt to restore a forgotten man’s place in history quietly transforms into a journey of personal redemption. Seamlessly fusing authentic historical documents with rich, multi-layered fiction, Wael El-Semry delivers a sweeping, deeply atmospheric epic exploring who owns history, the fragility of memory, and the quiet lives that shape our world.