dispatches from here » egypt

the streets of Cairo

ano — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:57:00 +0000

The Cairo metro region is home to 18 million people, and probably 20 million by the time you read this. Constant activity, noises, smells, and people, people, everywhere you turn. And every front door and curb and street corner is somebody’s workshop or storefront. Just finding a spot to sit or stand in the chaos feels like an accomplishment.

Hop right on the bus, pay whoever is standing at the door, and watch all the pedestrians pass you by as you sit in standstill traffic.

Who needs a workshop? Sit on a tire in the street.

Delivery skills that put hipster San Francisco bike messengers to shame.

Evidence of a hard day's work.

taking a break from carrying boxes and getting a hard time from his friend.

UPS has nothing on this.

I'm not sure exactly what he fixes at this shop, but I think 'everything' would be a good guess.

the busy street of cairo, where sidewalks are as jammed as the streets.

Awnings for sale. On the side of the street at midnight. This place literally never sleeps.

the only way to get around this place, but I doubt you'd survive. Red lights are only for decoration here.

lots of friendly folks, at least, when they aren't trying to hustle you.

there is not enough time for buses to stop, so you need a running start to get on one.

one of the larger traffic circles in downtown Cairo.

when its time to pray, its time to pray, even if you're hanging out in the shade of a coke machine.

10 weeks in 3 minutes

ano — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:14:23 +0000

As many of you readers know, I spent the 10 weeks starting Feb 12 in the Middle East, through Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. The core of that time was spent in Syria, living in an Iraqi refugee camp and putting together a documentary film (more on that later).

To keep things interesting and to log my travels, each day I took a photo telling the story of that day somehow. Most of them were done with a tripod and wireless remote, with an occasional bystander snapping the photo. I tried to switch things up, and the fact that I didn’t spend much time in the same place helped out.

Check out the complete slideshow below, 10 weeks of daily photos while bopping around the Middle East.

Hit the play button to get started.

Giza!

ano — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:15:14 +0000

Just catching up, and I may not get a good post in until I get back home. The next few days entail more ruins/temples in Luxor, a relaxing felucca ride down the Nile, then a hectic taxi+plane+bus+ferry that will hopefully get me into southern Jordan.

Some photos from Giza….pretty unreal overall. Going inside the Great Pyramid was a little bit underwhelming, but at least now I’ve been inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. The area around Cairo is littered with pyramids, with lots more to see…hopefully I’ll have a chance to update!