Egyptian newspapers covered the story with respectful restraint. While some Arab commentators criticized Sadat’s hospitality toward the former monarch, others saw the gesture as a reflection of Arab chivalry—the ancient tradition of offering refuge to the fallen, regardless of politics. Ordinary Egyptians who caught glimpses of the Shah described him as a dignified, soft-spoken man, often seen with Empress Farah at his side.
They lived quietly, away from the public eye, surrounded by a small circle of aides and doctors. The palace in Maadi, where they stayed, became a secluded world of reflection, illness, and unspoken nostalgia for a lost homeland.
