It hasn’t escaped me that the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned corresponded almost exactly with the day I left Cairo two years ago (not that I’m trying to imply anything about the importance of my having been there — I won’t appear in the historical record, I’m sure). On the 11th of February, 2009, I was in Luxor. I flew back to Cairo on the 12th and home on the 13th. I had been in Egypt 12 days. This year’s protest lasted 18 days leading to the president’s resignation. Had my trip been two years later, it would have been a much different experience but more likely wouldn’t have happened at all. My trip would have begun a week after protests had begun and I’m sure it would have been cancelled.
I haven’t written about the situation in Egypt yet because I really don’t feel qualified to add anything to the discussion. Other than having been there, my knowledge bank really doesn’t even scratch the surface of the country’s history — especially its recent history. As a kid I devoured any information I could find about ancient Egypt but this is a very different country today, a very different world. I’ll leave the discussion of the ramifications of this week to others more well-versed.
Two years ago Cairo already struck me as being a chaotic city. Bustling and noisy, crossing traffic on foot was a risk not taken lightly. This shot of an overflow of people trying to ride a bus was taken just a few blocks from Tahrir Square where the protestors gathered less than two years later. Scenes like this look blissfully calm now compared to their counterparts taken over the last three weeks. The Big Picture has a couple of excellent galleries here and here. I have a great respect for the photojournalists that do such amazing work during turbulent times.
Who knew that at the time I was exploring these streets between the Nile and the Egyptian Museum that I was not only seeing an area so full of history, but one that would soon make history again. The truth is, I shot these last two images on my first day in Cairo after having just landed and checked into my hotel. A friend and I went out for some air and to get our bearings. He had already been in Egypt for a few days and was becoming acclimated. I was walking in a haze, barely aware of where I was.
The damage done at the Egyptian Museum was shocking. One report I read said that the vandal had dropped down through a skylight like one of the above, lowering himself on telephone and computer wires. His descent took a turn for the worse and he ended up landing on and damaging one of the cases as well as his back. He was caught but not before causing more damage to several artifacts which are now being restored. What I loved about the Egyptian Museum was probably what also made it vulnerable. It was an old-style museum of cases and cabinets that seemed old enough to be in museums on their own merits. It was miles and miles of stuff. Some behind glass, some not. You just picked your way through hallway after hallway of amazing artifacts, feeling almost as though you were discovering lost secrets yourself. I can also appreciate the modern museum concept where everything is heavily interpreted and enhanced by computer touch screens but a museum like this is an experience all its own. I understand that a new museum is being, or will soon be, constructed but I’m honestly glad I got to see this one. I hope that soon more tourists can return to Cairo to see it as well.
I think about the people I met in Egypt and wonder how their lives will be different now. I hope they will be better off and I hope I can return one day soon to see for myself.
