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The condition of world renowned Egyptian writer and Nobel literature prize winner Nagib Mahfuz has improved slightly, medics said Thursday just days after he was put in intensive care.
Mahfuz, 94, has begun to regain consciousness and was able to recognise visitors at Cairo's Police Hospital, where he is being treated for kidney problems, pneumonia and other ailments relating to his age, they said.
He even managed to eat foul, a traditional Egyptian dish, through a feeding tube.
Mahfuz, who is diabetic, was hospitalised a month ago and was moved to an intensive care unit on Monday when doctors had described his condition as "critical but stable".
Born in Cairo in 1911, Mahfuz is Egypt's most celebrated intellectual with about 40 novels to his name.
In 1988, he became the first Arab writer to be awarded the Nobel prize for literature, notably for the universal character of his art, which was considered a metaphor for relations between people in communities worldwide.
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AFP 171846 GMT 08 06
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