This is the latest in a series of reports on the “Restoring the Journey” trip that brought US tourism leaders to Egypt and Jordan to experience safety conditions firsthand. I traveled with the delegation, which was sponsored by local tourism ministries.
I ran into this Egyptian flag near Cairo's Qasr el-Nil bridge.
My visit to Cairo last week taught me three things about the Egyptian people: they’re optimistic about the future, they’re proud of the January 25th revolution, and they’ve embraced street art.
The red, white and black stripes of the Egyptian flag were splashed on walls across downtown Cairo, while the English phrase “Enjoy the Revolution” greeted visitors to Tahrir Square.
While I don’t read Arabic, I was fascinated by the artwork and wondered what it meant. Some of the murals were clearly revolutionary, but the meaning of other symbols was hard to decipher.
What do you think of Cairo’s street art scene? If you recognize the people and symbols shown, please chime in!
>> UPDATE 5/10/11 – Click on the follow-up article, “Egyptian street art celebrates religious unity” for English translations of this street art.
The setting
A park in Cairo, located near several works of street art.
As I strolled down Cairo’s Nile River on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I passed perfectly-maintained gardens, couples flirting on benches and vendors selling soft drinks on giant blocks of ice.
Visitors pose for photos at Cairo's Qasr el-Nil bridge.
It was a pleasant scene that could play out in any city, and it was hard to believe a revolution had occurred here just a few months ago. The street art I encountered was one of the few signs of the 18-day uprising.
Street art hot-spot
The area across the Qasr el-Nil bridge from downtown Cairo was a hotbed of street art.
I was struck by the thoughtful expression of the man on this painted mural. On a wall with no other artwork– surrounded by impeccable gardens– this tribute seemed out of place.
Across the street, a graffiti artist tagged “Game Over” on a concrete column.
This image of two men was stenciled behind an elegant building with a tall minaret.
It reminded me of the iconic image of Che, the Argentine revolutionary who fought in Cuba. However, these men had friendly expressions that bordered on sweet. Could they be victims of the revolution?
An ankh and a crescent were spray painted on a nearby wall. I wondered if this could be the symbol of a political party. I ruled out the Muslim Brotherhood, since a Google search turned up a logo with swords. The combination of the ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol, and the crescent, often associated with Islam, was intriguing.
>> UPDATE: This is a Christian cross, not an ankh, and is a symbol of religious unity in Egypt.
When I visited Tahrir Square on Easter Sunday, it was calm and nearly empty. One of the few remnants of the revolution was this graffiti. It read, “Enjoy the Revolution.”
After stopping by the Supreme Council of Antiquities in an upscale part of Cairo, our bus passed a wall plastered with murals. Several depicted the Egyptian flag, which had become a familiar sight.
The murals stretched for an entire block.
The murals didn’t appear to be created by the same artist, since the styles varied. I wondered if this building might be a school, and the murals a class project.
For more info
Click here for additional blog posts on the “Restoring the Journey” trip to Egypt and Jordan. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for photos and videos of the trip, and look for the hashtag #SafeME on Twitter.
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Oh that’s some street art! “Enjoy the revolution”. That is so honest and truthful sentence.
I can’t even imagine how they people felt the moment. Thanks for sharing the moment!!
I loved that line! It really does capture the spirit of the revolution.
LOVE this. I have always had a love affair with Egypt even though I have never been. So much can be said in street art. It is like you experience the real feelings.
Erica, I hope you make it to Egypt. Now is a great time to go! The mood was so upbeat. I agree, street art provides insight into the culture and politics of a destination. I love visiting a city and stumbling onto creative artwork 🙂
Wow, I can see that they really embraced their street arts. As a designer I love looking at those too. You know if you don’t say it’s from Cairo, at a quick glance it feels like ur in the state.
I was surprised by how clean and “normal” Cairo looked, only a few months after a major revolution. This area of the city is beautiful, with manicured gardens and monuments. It was a great surprise to find so much street art there!
Great stuff Leslie. A very unique way to show what’s happening in Egypt from the street level. And, as you like street art, it makes for a wonderful story. I can offer help with the symbols, but I can with a RT 🙂
Dave, can’t wait to hear your insight into these symbols!
I love your photos! It looks so peaceful and calm after the revolution!
Great street art! We were in Cairo last summer, but I wish I could come back now to see all of this.
Wow, great post! I love street art and I’m actually heading back to Cairo two days from now for 3 weeks! Can’t wait to scope out some of the art you found in the photos above.
Enjoy your trip! It’s a great time to visit Cairo. I was amazed by the resilient spirit of the people. It was fascinating to walk across Tahrir Square after watching the revolution unfold on TV.
Hey Leslie 🙂 Maybe I can help you “translating” some of these writings!
The “game over” writing says: “Mubarak game over” and it’s signed “the people of Egypt”
The 2 guys are Egyptian guys who died in the Revolution: Ahmed Basiouny (shot in the head in Tahrir Square) and the other one looks like “Mustafa Alsawy” but I am not sure.
The symbol of cross (not anhk) + crescent is the symbol of unity between Muslims (crescent) and Christians (cross), and the writing says “brothers”.
I love this kind of graffiti… they are all around Cairo and they are so beautiful. 🙂
Giulia, thanks for shedding light on this street art! What a fitting way to honor Egyptians who died in the revolution– now their images will live on and will inspire visitors like me to learn more about their cause.
Loved seeing this art! Some of the pieces are really artistic and beautiful. My fav is the first photo under “Street art hot-spot”
Agreed- that’s a great mural. I like the pop art style!
these are some really great photos — more importantly, they really tell a story. I love this post (and Egypt… but you knew that).
Thanks Michael! I was surprised and impressed by the Cairo street art. There’s a lot to love about Egypt 🙂
Never knew there was so much graffiti there. The city looks beautiful though. I am typically not a fan of the street art like this (aka graffiti) but this gives a lot of insight into the people and city itself. Very interesting!
For me, street art adds to the beauty of a destination! But if you prefer classic art, I’d recommend visiting downtown Cairo. There are many beautiful buildings, gardens and the Egyptian Museum, which has perfectly intact artwork from 3,000+ years ago. It’s amazing! (Unfortunately, wasn’t allowed to take pics inside).
Very cool street art and interesting to wonder what it all means. I was surprised though not to see a one-eyed blue alien.
Yeah, I think the one-eyed, blue alien in my profile pic is exclusive to NYC. I’d love to spot him overseas though!
Love that you find the street art wherever you are.
It’s interesting that much of the graffiti is also in English instead of only in the native language there. I suppose they want to communicate to the world what they have achieved.
wonderful! you really have a knack for finding cool graffiti Les;) Cairo’s Nile River on a sunny Saturday afternoon looks gorgeous… , how do they maintained those gardens so well i wonder.. 😉
Oops! That previous one was from moi 😉 haha
I am a big fan of street art and seek it out when I know there is a hot spot where I am traveling. I especially like the works that are subversive and politically charged, nice pix!
am so in love with my country Egypt,,i hope that all the ppl in the world can visit my lovely Egypt.
Great photo essay, there’s so much fabulous street art here in Cairo now. Just to note that the photo with the crescent and the ‘ankh’ is not actually an ankh, it’s a Christian cross. The symbol became popular pre-revolution to show Muslim-Christian unity in the wake of violent Muslim-Christian clashes in Alexandria and elsewhere last year. It has been an important theme during the revolution (with Christains protecting Muslim protesters at prayer in Jan/Feb and vice versa), that Egyptians are one nation regardless of faith.
Thanks Bee! I published a follow-up post explaining that the ankh was actually a cross, and providing translations of the Arabic text on this artwork: http://downtowntraveler.com/2011/05/10/update-egyptian-street-art-celebrates-religious-unity/. There is a link to the new post at the top of this article, but I realized from your comment that it was easy to miss. I’ve just added another “update” below the photo of the cross.