Egyptian Adventures (the start of the uprising in 2011)

​My first visit to Egypt - a couple of days in Cairo, followed by an Aswan-Luxor cruise on a lovely small dahibiya for only 12 passengers. Having returned safely to the UK on 30th January, I feel incredibly lucky that we were able to complete our holiday and to come back to a country where, even if things aren't perfect, democracy is a 'given'.As with any organised group trip, proper time for photography was inevitably limited. However, I'm used to having to work quickly in situations like this and endeavoured to make the most of any opportunities that came my way, concentrating largely on stock photography.

Whilst on our boat we passed by some wonderful scenery on the Nile and watching people living their life on the river was fascinating. Most of the sightseeing was undertaken from our moorings at Aswan and Luxor, and the image above was taken just as we cruised into Luxor. The light was by no means perfect but the feluccas sailing up and down the Nile made a compelling image. Less compelling was one of the many ugly, over-sized and filthy cruise ships in the far distance - I'm afraid I've cloned it out! I've also processed the image with a sepia tint, trying to give a sense of how things must have looked in less busy times. Tourism is vital to Egypt's economy and let's hope they are in a position to welcome back tourists soon. It is perhaps no surprise that some of the attractions are over visited and a mass of large coaches and cruise ships make their way to places like Luxor. Selfishly, I wish numbers could be more moderate - but, financially, this would be rather hard to justify. With careful planning, it is possible to visit many of the sites at times when numbers are not quite so heavy - although this may also mean visiting when the light is not as you'd choose. Again, you have to learn to adapt to what you've got and work with the light, the tourists and the time constraints. Ironically, as the rioting set in towards the end of our holiday, so the 'best' photographic opportunities presented themselves. Luxor became the latest town to experience riots on our last day there - I limited myself to a quick shot from the opposite bank of the Nile (below). A few of us did go into the town, hoping to visit the museum, but were refused entry. At the time this was immensely frustrating and seemed counter-productive - tear gas had been employed to counteract the rioters and the noxious fumes were overbearing at times. Our argument that we'd be safer inside the museum and away from the fumes fell on deaf ears, although we were all given disposable face masks to take away. As it was, I'm pretty sure my throat and nose were still feeling the effects a good week later - I hate to think how it would feel to be right in the centre of the action.

So, a little excitement in Luxor - but then we had to fly back to Cairo for a final day in the city before flying back to the UK. A curfew had been imposed from 4pm to 7am, with the army apparently under orders to shoot anyone who broke it - but our rep who greeted our delayed flight at the airport assured us tourists were still being allowed to travel to their pre-booked hotels. A few minutes later, when we tried to leave the airport, we were stopped and told that our night in a comfortable hotel was to be exchanged for a night in the international airport - we were not allowed to leave. Our hotel was only a few kilometres away but apparently situated within a neighbourhood where looters were on the rampage and the fear was it would be unsafe to travel. Having spent most of the day either at the airport or on a plane, the idea of now spending the night at a horribly over-crowded and ill-equipped airport was not met with enthusiasm. We had also established that our morning flight out of Cairo had been rescheduled to much later the next day but, despite much reasoning and pleading, we were not being allowed to leave. Rob, my husband, then took it upon himself to investigate the situation a little further and soon returned saying he'd found another exit out of the aiport, had got out without difficulty and spoken to various taxi drivers who said they could get us to our hotel, no problem! Our rep was adamant that we should not try and leave by ourselves and that it would be unsafe - we agreed to wait to see how things developed over the next hour. Predictably, the stalemate continued and, after the hour had elapsed, the two of us (somewhat anxiously) made our way out of the alternative exit and went in search of a taxi. We found a suitably clapped out looking car with a very charming driver who said he would 'try' and get us to our hotel. Not entirely reassuring but a good meal and comfortable bed beckoned... After our tourist-friendly minibus drivers, the short drive on the ring road was somewhat hairy - our car didn't really seem designed to go round corners that fast! Yet that was nothing compared to the sinking feeling in my stomach as we came off the ring road and onto a smaller street. Groups of vigilantes lined the street, with temporary blockades set up every hundred metres or so. Pretty much every one of them was armed: knives with blades of 12 inches plus, steel bars, something that looked like a 3 foot corkscrew, rocks... I started to think we'd been incredibly stupid (perhaps we had) and, had there been a means of doing so, we'd have turned back. The inevitable sense of fear as some of the men approached was counter-balanced by the fact that our driver seemed reasonably calm and that, in the back of our minds, we knew their argument was not with us tourists. Even so, confronted with a scene like that, for a few brief moments I did contemplate the worst - I think only disbelief at finding myself in that situation stopped me from feeling more afraid. As it was, when they saw we were tourists, they could not have been more friendly - they waved us through the various blockades and Rob, winding down his car window, was quick to thank them all. Moments later, we realised we'd reached our hotel and suddenly our 'illegal' escape seemed a brilliant idea. Yet in any situation like that, it could just take a moment of panic, or one 'bad egg' for things to turn very nasty. It took a while for the adrenalin to die down but we were soon enjoying a super meal in the hotel's Italian restaurant and had the prospect of a comfortable night's sleep. We were somewhat concerned about the rest of our group, still stranded at the airport, and texted them to let them know we had arrived safely, albeit after a somewhat frightening journey. In the end, we were really happy to know the others all followed and also arrived safely. Official departure time the next morning was 6am but, knowing our flight had been rescheduled, we opted to do our own thing again. By mid morning, tanks were blocking the road outside the hotel so we started our journey to the aiport on foot, later picking up an even more dilapitated old taxi. We expected chaos at the airport but nothing could have prepared us for the scene that awaited us. None of us travelling through that airport have ever experienced anything like it and would never wish to again. There was a genuine risk of people being crushed and/or trampled with absolutely nothing in place to try to direct and organise the hundreds of people trying to get on a flight. It was virtually impossible to move and I felt far more at risk than I had when driving through road blocks the previous evening. Passengers were climbing over the x-ray machines, luggage trolleys were being lifted over people's heads, people were trying to move in every direction - but there was literally no room to move. Somehow we made it to the check-in desk after a good half hour of struggling through the mass, only to have to fight our way back through even bigger crowds to get to passport control. I'm lucky in that I'm tall and fit and my rugged Kata backpack gave me and my camera gear a little bit of protection as well! For those who were smaller, or not fit, it must have been even more of a nightmare - but somehow we all made it through. The sense of relief when our plane left was immeasurable... Now, some two weeks later, it seems as if the Egyptian people may be on the way to getting the kind of country they want and deserve. I really do hope so and find it hard not to share the cautious sense of optimism expressed by many. As a tourist and a photographer, it is certainly a country to which I would like to return - ideally with a little less excitement, but also with a little bit more time to do justice to the place photographically. Of course, I 'could' have got some amazing photos of the groups of vigilantes as we drove to our hotel on that last night - it did even cross my mind for a micro second! As did getting my camera out in the carnage at Cairo airport; but concern for my own and my camera gear's welfare was stronger than any new-found desire to enter the world of photojournalism...