Ahmad's terrifying journey

It begins when Ahmad sets foot just outside of Maryam's mother's home. He begins slowly walking through the dark streets of the cul-de-sac, dragging his lamented body across closed stores and what seems like abandoned coffe-houses with not a single trace of life. Ahmad spotted a soldier, and this is where the author, Mahfouz, goes into the mind of Ahmad:

“He saw another soldier, not the sentry, heading toward him, armed to the teeth. What new development had brought on this treatment? Was the man intoxicated? Perhaps he had been overcome by a sudden urge to attack someone? Or was he out to plunder and loot?” (442)

He encountered the soldier and was commanded to walk the way that he was not intended to walk, and soon Mahfouz breaks his magic again; his wonderful description, into Ahmad's thoughts:

“He waded into the waves of gloomy darkness and profound silence, seeing nothing but phantom houses and hearing only the heavy footsteps that followed him with mechanical precision, as though counting out the minutes or perhaps the seconds left for him to live. Yes, he expected at each moment to be dealt a blow that would finish him off.” (443)

It's like Mafhouz is describing the surroundings in order for the reader to have an image of the place and diving into Ahmad's thoughts simultaneously. It is through Ahmad's eyes (that Mahfouz writes with) that we both can see the surroundings and what Ahmad is thinking;
“When he reached the corner of al-Khurunfush, his eyes were attracted by rays of light flashing in the darkness. He looked along the street and saw a lantern carried by another soldier driving before him an uncertain number of figures. He wondered whether the soldiers had been given orders to capture all the men they came across at night. Where were they leading them? What punishment would be meted out?” (444)
Three pages of non-stop description taking the reader into truly a character's pensive and fearful mind; this is descriptive narration. The novel is written in third person omnipotent, but the author Naguib Mahfouz goes into deep thought of his characters so zealously, that I often feel that Mahfouz is Ahmad, that Mahfouz is the one walking through the food markets and bars of Palace Walk. But one can easily distinguish Ahmad's thoughts versus what Mahfouz is describing in your head, it's just that this is all done with so much mastery and swiftness.