Patriotic Egyptians personified the Sphinx as a silent lover of Cairo

Evidence

The Sphinx today will speak, but with no voice to be heard. He will unveil his secrets in this letter to you, Cairo, and to you alone. You might have thought that I am nothing but a piece of solid stone … but have you ever thought that this solid mass might have a heart like other living hearts? It is time that this heart speaks its buried love . — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 83

Categorization

• QUESTION: Whose letter or composition is this passage quoting? The rhetorical register reads like a set piece from an Egyptian newspaper or literary revival text of the period, worth chasing the source.
• XREF: connects to: The Sphinx symbolizes Egypt itself in modern Egyptian popular culture
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: The Sphinx symbolizes Egypt itself in modern Egyptian popular culture