Photographs from the two and a half years we lived in Egypt:

"Man fears time, but time fears the pyramids."

 Our kind and reliable fruit vendor with a winter offering of oranges.

 My favourite mode of transportation in Egypt.

The Nasr City grandstand where President Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981.

 My friend Anwar, who runs a small shop in Cairo with his Upper Egyptian brothers.

Cairo's unforgettable Garbage City.

If you're a squeamish type, perhaps you should just move on to the next photo.  

Wanda and Beni Suef neighbours.

A Coptic desert Monastery.

 Wanda on top of the world.

 Bananas were available year round, and Mohamed was more than happy to provide.

 Cairo graffiti shows martyrs Khaled Saeed (beaten to death in police custody in 2010, becoming a rallying point for the revolution) and Mena Daniel (among the Copts killed
by the army at Maspero in 2011).

An older photo- as the last time we saw this little guy he had a mustache, had grown a foot, and was smoking cigarettes like they were going out of style.

 Prayer in the street during Ramadan.

Escaping the sun next to the oldest pyramid in the world at Saqqara.

A friendly Beni Suef water buffalo. 

 Stuck in the mud with students at Wadi Rayyan.

The burned-out NDP building looms next to the ancient wonders of the Egyptian museum.

We never lacked attention in off-the-beaten-track Beni Suef. 

 The corniche and Nile from above in our adopted hometown.

You can never have enough garlic- especially during the spring harvest! 

Friends at a Beni Suef school. 

 Revolutionary artwork at an underground subway station.

 There are many sides to life in Egypt.  Literally hundreds of men were drinking and smoking hashish at this Beni Suef Henna party (like a bachelor party in Canada).
*For the record- I was only a spectator!

Chatting it up with a couple of the neighbourhood kids outside our apartment. 

 So many wonderful guests, and so many great memories.  

More Cairo graffiti.  Here the artists portray the Mubarak regime, the generals, 
and the Muslim Brotherhood as all part of the same oppressive, deep state.

Sipping coffee at El Fishawi's in Islamic Cairo.  
The cafe was a favourite hangout of legendary Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz.

Our wonderful students celebrate at an end of course party.

Donkeys, tuk-tuks, and a makeshift garbage dump in the middle of Cairo.

Young Blue Jay fans in Beni Suef.

The cross, the crescent, the pyramids- and hope for a brighter day.