Luxor, Egypt – April 11, 2010 The picture above is a view from inside the Ramesseum, a mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramesses (Ramses) II, located in the Theban necropolis near Luxor, Egypt. It was built in the 13th century B.C. The Ramesseum is one of my favorite places in Upper Egypt, in part because it […]
Before Disembarking, They Gave Me Chicken, Bread, And Cheese
Out the window, on the train traveling from Luxor to Cairo, civilization looked tired. Palm trees were brown with dust, and litter floated in canals. Crosses and crescents rose above neighborhoods of broken, mud-brick walls, and it was impossible not to think of the tension between Christianity and Islam here. Donkeys trod past machines in […]
The Emptiness Aboard Lufthansa #586 to Cairo
Lufthansa was flying a larger than normal aircraft on the Munich to Cairo route this morning, February 1, 2011. Still, there weren’t many people — maybe 30? — sitting at the gate for flight 586 when it came time to board. The small group consisted of prominent journalists (Katie Couric and David Muir), tight-budgeted freelancers (e.g., Joel […]
The Patrick Henrys of Tahrir Square (Cairo, Egypt – 2011)
The day was February 11, 2011. About an hour before Friday prayers began, while walking through Cairo’s crowded Tahrir Square, a man named Mahdy grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and said, “Hey, where you from?” He had a beard (that’s him in the center of the photo), a thundering voice, and when I said […]