ABSTRACT
At 6.30 a.m. on 7 July I was awakened by the ringing of my telephone. Vice-President Mubarak was at the other end of the line. He asked banteringly: “Are you still asleep, Mohamed Bey?” I replied in the affirmative, pointing out that I had stayed up late. Mubarak then asked me: “Are you ready for the trip to Austria?” I replied: “I am not leaving: I was told so by the President a few days ago.” The Vice-President answered: “But you are leaving: I was talking to him yesterday, and he told me to let you know you were leaving so you could get ready. The President will be taking off from Gianaclis airport at 11 a.m. this morning. I shall be travelling with you to Alexandria to see him off. Please meet me at Almaza [the military airfield near Heliopolis] and we will leave together.”
