Whenwe came within hail, oneof thefournativeswho were present advanced to receive us, and began to shout most vehemently, wishing todirect us whereto land.
Mubarak came to power in 1981, after then-President Anwar Sadat died in a hail of gunfire at a military parade -- killed by Islamic militants from within the army's own ranks after he took the dramatic step of making peace with Israel.