The so-called “Cairo Trilogy” by Naguib Mahfouz has frequently been analyzed from the perspective of the political and sociological light it shines upon the life of ordinary Egyptians in the early 20 th century, but hardly at all for how it illuminates the appreciation of art, and particularly music, by that same population. The first novel in the trilogy, Bayn al-Qasrayn (translated into English as Palace Walk) is particularly notable for the frequency of its references to popular song and its extended depictions of how song and music are experienced and appreciated. Mahfouz repeatedly evokes specific musical works popularized by a legendary group of late nineteenth-century Egyptian/Ottoman composer/musicians by quoting a single line of the song text. By quoting a single line of text, Mahfouz called to his readers’ memory the entire song, perhaps at the same time evoking a sense of nostalgia for the time period he describes in the novel, which was approximately 40 years before its first publication in serialized form. Mahfouz’ extended descriptions of musical performance and audience appreciation create a mental soundtrack complementing his narrative, calling upon his readers to join the fictional characters in giving themselves up to the enjoyment of the music. Mahfouz’ knowledgeable and literary references to song texts popularized by these musical giants create a mental soundtrack for a readership that he could presume was equally conversant with this musical tradition. This assumption was greatly amplified—and transmitted to a new generation of appreciative listeners—when the trilogy of novels were adapted to musical film in the popular features directed by Hasan al-Imam in the 1960s. But it is Bayn al-Qasrayn that stands out from the other two novels of the trilogy in the sheer number of its references to specific songs, its specific invocation by name of the great Egyptian singer/composers of the late nineteenth century, and its extended depictions of ecstatic performances accompanied by equally ecstatic audience enjoyment. Interestingly, the novelist makes abundantly clear that his fictional performers are nowhere near up to the job of giving a truly adequate performance—but due to restrictions imposed by the British occupation of Cairo on their access to the chief entertainment districts of Cairo, the novel’s musical afficionados must make do with what is available. In this paper I will tease out the novel’s accompanying diegetic soundtrack, bringing the specific songs, their composers, and their most famous performers back into the light.