most of the pictures above are from luxor on friday 1/28, the bottom two are from the first demonstrations in cairo on tuesday 1/25.we made it to dubai this morning after two and a half weeks in egypt. we found ourselves staying on the street that is just off of tahrir square, where the main demonstrations in cairo are happening. we left tuesday night after the demonstrations started to head south and see a few sights, and came back to cairo saturday night to fly out of egypt sunday morning. the cairo we came back to sunday morning was a completely different place than the cairo that we left on tuesday.
we watched the first demonstrations out of our window on tuesday, and got stuck in a few in luxor on friday. i am so happy that we were in cities other than cairo for the few days that we were, as those were the days that the protests were out of control. the energy in egypt on tuesday was motivational and excited, through friday we saw the energy change to anger and fear, and when we went back to cairo on sunday the air was heavy and solemn. over the course of the week we watched peoples faces change too. on sunday the city was still, and eerie. we had to go downtown near tahrir square before we flew out and the remains of the previous days riots were strewn about the city. torched trucks and building carcasses were on either side of the street, and the sidewalks were filled with burned trash and broken glass instead of vendors selling scarves and toys.
though i would have never originally chosen to be in egypt at this time, i am really grateful for the experiences we had. the conversations that we had with locals while we were there gave us so much insight to what egypt has gone through in the past few decades under its current government, and we really hope that they see some change soon. despite being in the middle of all of the unrest we never really felt threatened or unsafe. people would see us on the street and stop to reassure us that we would be ok and not to be afraid. each of them told us that they were grateful for america and that they were happy that we were there. they were happy that we could see first hand what was happening, and they all urged us to go home and tell people what we saw because what the media portrays (anywhere, but especially at home) is not always accurate. i am so thankful that we were able to stay safe. i really hope that things there are peaceful from here on out. when we first arrived in egypt as the typical tourists that we are we were really weary talking to people because we were good targets for tourist scams. over the week the energy in the interactions between people in the entire country changed, the tourist-local interactions included. We really came to love the kindness and hospitality of the the people there and i wish the best for them.
the long version of our experience is in the previous post here.
we were intimidated to take pictures when we were in big crowds with people sometimes, but got a few videos of more mellow demonstrations. somehow i lost footage of a rock fight that we were right next to, which is a shame because it was really good footage. when we were downtown in cairo sunday morning and things were pretty feeling pretty grim we felt like it was disrespectful to take pictures, so we didn't. this video is just some of the footage we have all put together. in the middle of it somewhere i pan over the square in luxor during prayers when it is really calm, and then the next footage that follows it is in the same place just an hour later.
Untitled from sarah winward on Vimeo.
11 comments:
fascinating to see your pictures. The Egyptian people are lovely. I've spent time there on holiday and its interesting to see whats happening.
So so glad that you guys are okay. I have been thinking about you constantly! (Thankful from the updates from your mom). What a fascinating story!
s-my thoughts have been with you. i'm so happy to hear that you and david are well and safe from any harm. thank you for sharing your experience and interaction with the people.
love and best wishes in the next part of your travels.
You two be careful you hear? I've been following the riots on the news and am so fascinated by what is going down. What a cool thing that you are watching history happen. safe travels you two
Decades of political stability and David screws it all up in under a week! I like to imagine the whole revolution as a comedy of errors resulting from David's inadvertent actions. This is how it would go:
As David is leaving the government office after trying to get a visa, he accidentally bumps into a young Egyptian. The man mistakenly thinks it was a government official giving him a hard time. He goes home and starts complaining with his friends about the abuse, which gets them all riled up. Later, one of these friends goes to the pharmacy to get a prescription for his ailing grandmother. There is some discrepancy about the payment, which prompts a heated discussion. David, who is just leaving the pharmacy with his own meds, has no idea what is being said. He does know, however, that his stomach feels like it's in a vice. He lets out a bloodcurdling grunt, which, by pure coincidence, sounds exactly like the Egyptian phrase "People unite against this oppressive regime!" This inspires the young man who goes home to tell his friends. Without knowing it, David has become the Che Guevara of the Egyptian revolution. When he is out on the street people are inspired by his presence and begin to revolt. He moves from Cairo to Luxor, which lets the country know that the fight must be taken to every town. When David is out during the protests, people come up to make sure to thank him and to assure him that they know that he and his country are the true inspiration for this revolution. When David leaves the country, it is seen as a political exile, but the people continue the fight, hoping that one day their leader will return...
stay safe over there!
love hearing about this from your perspective. it has been very moving, watching it in the news. the astounding power of a simple act of people taking to the streets to say they want more for their lives. So glad you are both safe!
Very interesting to read this from someone on the ground-level over there. Thanks for sharing this.
thanks for sharing! stay safe you guys.
I am so happy to hear that you both are safe! Was thinking about you the other day and wondered if you are still in Egypt.
Amazing footage, I just hope the Egyptian people will be safe and stable!
xox, Kristina
oh my gosh, that video is so crazy. thanks for making it! It makes it look so real from here, because all we're seeing is pictures. In the first part of the video you can hear a gunshot! That is so cool that you guys were there during such a monumental time. you lucky fools!
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