Cairo and Paris: Blending Cultures
I used to love strolling through the streets of Egypt with my camera always in hand, and just capture the most random people and places. Having moved to Paris almost 5 years ago, there were just some things I couldn’t leave behind in Cairo. So, I started photographing the different Parisian arrondissements, with a biased Egyptian perspective, perhaps, this is why my camera almost captured identical shots from two completely different continents.
1. Blue Windows (Pictured above)
From color to texture, the striking shades of blue attracted me both, in Magra Al Oyoun, and Rue Cremieux. I had to stop and capture them, though their similarities were coincidentally brought together.
2. Uniting Currents: The Nile & The Seine
A literal comparison between the rivers, flowing through two of the most historical cities. The Nile and the Seine never looked so much alike.
3. The Café Culture
In both cultures, people love coming together for lunch. It's an Egyptian thing to 'ناكل عيش وملح مع بعض' which basically means to share a life of experiences together, through the good and the bad.
4. Children Trios
Supported by the walls and fences of their cultures; it seems like 3 is the perfect number for play dates amongst Egyptian and French kids.
5. The Essential Vespa
A vespa is almost essential in the streets of Cairo as a way to escape deadly traffics, but I guess the same concept applies in Paris.
6. Tuktuks
The two versions of tuktuks are pretty much the same, except in Cairo it's more authentic, a lot slower and so much cheaper.
7. Layers of Stickers
Though there are strong visual similarities, the two cultures speak different languages, as well as have different beliefs, in which they express on posters and stickers.
