A call to action

"This is an appeal to help save lives."

The prominent street-artist Ganzeer recently announced the Mad Graffiti Week initiative encouraging people in Egypt and beyond to take to the streets from January 13-25 to raise awareness about the situation in Egypt: "Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art."

As I

I haven't actually seen the posters on the streets of Cairo, but they have been circulating online. Get ready.
http://ganzeer.blogspot.com/2011/12/mad-graffiti-week-jan-13-25-appeal-to.html

This is an appeal to help save lives. The Egyptian Military Council has unleashed a brutal crackdown on peaceful protests by the Egyptian people, calling for the resignation of the military council and a cancellation of the sham elections that they’ve been running under their supervision. Soldiers have shown us no mercy, hitting fallen women with their batons, stomping on skulls with their boots, and shooting unarmed civilians dead. I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes and was unable to stop it. It’s a soul-shattering pain like no other.

The lies being disseminated by military-controlled media are as equally painful. Nothing hurts more than such shameless injustice. I fear the military’s strategy will only lead my country to an armed civil war. In an effort to keep our struggle peaceful, I hear by call on artists everywhere to support the Egyptian revolution with their art. As the genius that is Alan Moore once said, “[a satire] destroys you in the eyes of your community, it shows you up as ridiculous, lame, pathetic, worthless, in the eyes of your community, in the eyes of your family, in the eyes of your children, in the eyes of yourself, and if it's a particularly good bard, and he's written a particularly good satire, then three hundred years after you're dead, people are still gonna be laughing."

Our only hope right now is to destroy the military council using the weapon of art. From January 13 to 25, the streets of Egypt will see an explosion of anti-military street-art. If you are a street artist elsewhere in the world, please do what you can in your city to help us. Even if you are not a street-artist. If you’re a comicbook artist, a musician, or filmmaker, whatever artistic talent you have can be of big help. If you can do something before the designated date, please do! We need all the help we can get.

Finding “inspiration” is not at all difficult. A quick visit to scaf-crimes.blogspot.com will do the trick. On behalf of Egypt’s street-art community, allow me to thank anybody in the world willing to help. Your art may very well save lives. 

If you need any instruction, here is "a how-to-graffiti guide for those who scheme and those who dream."
http://crimethinc.com/tools/downloads/pdfs/walls_are_alive.pdf

Dragons

Ever city must have its own football team, but more importantly, its own football fan club. Ismailia has the yellow dragons. There are murals around the city honoring the team. Street curbs and trees* are painted the team's colors-- yellow and blue.

*tree trunks throughout Egypt are painted as a form of insecticide. In Cairo many tree trucks were painted red, black, and white after the Revolution.
I noticed this form of insecticide during my travels in India.

Ismailia, E-day

This photograph was taken in Midan El Mamar, the center of the demonstrations during the 25 January Revolution in Ismailia. There are still military tanks stationed in the Midan.

Ismailia is half way between Port Said (to the north, on the Medterrain Sea) and Suez (to the south) and is the base of Egypt's second army. Ismailia is the hometown of Hasan Al-Bana, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Compared to Cairo, Ismailia is a small city (10-20 million vs. less than 1 million).
Nicholas Kristof recently reported from the city.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/kristof-Democracy-in-the-Muslim-Brotherhoods-Birthplace.html

I traveled to Ismailia yesterday to witness the second-round of Egyptian parliamentary elections taking place in the city. I was surprised by the general lack of election-fever in the city. From what I observed, there was no campaigning outside of polling stations-- which is illegal by Egyptian law, but nevertheless took place during the first round of elections in Cairo. Like Cairo, however, there were campaigns posters dotting all of the walls in the city too.

I was surprised by the reach of the April 6th movement's "White Circle, Black Circle" campaign in the city. I had only seen black circles in Cairo, not white circles. In contrast, both black and white circles were spray-painted in abundance around the city center. The circles were not necessarily painted on campaign posters.
http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt-elections-2011/muslim-brotherhood-stronghold-sees-possible-vote-split-dp1.html

Vote for nobody

Polls begin in 9 governates tomorrow. While Cairo had its elections 2 weeks ago, election-fever is still palpable here: Giza, located on the other side of the Nile (where the pyramids are) and just two metro stops from downtown Cairo, will have its elections tomorrow.

Located on Mohamed Mahmoud St., around the corner from Midan Tahrir, this is the first election related street art that I've seen in Egypt.

Voter turn-out was remarkably lower during the run-off elections last week than during the initial polls. I hope that the voter turn out is high tomorrow and Egyptians exercise their right to vote and duty to shape their country. A general sense of excitement surrounded the first polls and I hope that that excitement returns-- after all there are still three rounds of elections for the Shoura Council (the upper house of parliament) early next year, not to mention the presidential elections which SCAF recently promised will be held in June 2012 and a probable constitutional referendum.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/4/0/28243/Opinion/0/Elections-and-their-discontents.aspx
The world cares, so I hope Egypt does too.

V for Vendetta

Over the past few weeks, I have noticed the emergence of "V" street-art in Cairo in reference to the film V for Vendetta.

The street-art focuses primarily around the letter V which has been transformed into the letter A by the Ultras Ahly, giving the film spoof a uniquely Cairo quality. There phrase "Remember, Remember the 19th of November," a spoof of the film's phrase "Remember, Remember the 5th of November," is also spray-painted on the streets. The mask itself has not been worn at any demonstrations (unlike at the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York where apparently such an act is illegal in the US http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904194604576581171443151568.html).

I first watched the film V for Vendetta a few months ago here in Cairo. I had intended to watch it years ago-- I had the DVD in my possession last spring, but had to return it to Netflix before finishing it because my free-trial expired. In Egypt I watched a pirated copy that an Egyptian friend lent me, he had watched the film shortly after its release but still had it saved on his laptop. As the Arabic subtitles rolled across the screen, chants from Maglis Al Sha'ab sit-in were audible in the distance: Remember, Remember? How could you ever forget.

Located on the side of the 6th of October bridge in El Geziera, this stencil is by the street-artist Ganzeer. I took the photograph the first weekend in December, although it's been here since my arrival in early August. 

This photograph was taken in front of the Mugamma on Saturday 26 November during the recent Tahrir clashes. Since then the V has been spray-painted next to the words (and the letter M in november added). 

In the Sadat metro (under Midan Tahrir). This V is quite popular and can be found around the city. 

On Qasr Al-Aini St., near Midan Tahrir.
Is the black circle a reference to the April 6th movement's "White Circle, Black Circle" awareness campaign? Is V triumphing over El Feloul (the remnants of the old regime)?
There is no fist (a sign for the April 6th movement) to definitively indicate that it is in fact a part of the campaign. 

On Qasr Al-Aini St., near Midan Tahrir.
The Ultras Ahly (the football fan club of the major ) have spoofed on the V signature. Flipping the letter upside down, the letter A represents Ahly. The Ahly A is very popular (more popular than the V) and can be found around Cairo.





















On Qasr Al-Aini St., near the Maglis Al-Sha'ab sit-in.



Here the same A is used in the infamous acronym ACAB. This A had not previously been used in this acronym. On the on Qasr Al Aini St., near Midan Tahrir.

Eyes, edited

The expression goes that eyes are the window into the soul. Well, it appears that eyes are the window into the street.

The mural of the living martyrs on Mohamed Mahmoud St. has evolved and the eye patches are now being written on. Sadly some of the portraits have been defaced with crude jokes, but still others have the name of the living martyr or an expression of hope.

Translation: "God is great over all evil."

Maspero- 2 months and counting

Today marks the two month anniversary of the Maspero tragedy; it passed with little fanfare-- no newspaper headlines, no massive demonstration. Over the past month I have photographed many pieces of street art pertaining to the Maspero tragedy.

NOTE: All stencils reference the distinctive shape of the Maspero building (a circular building, with a tower jutting out of the middle) which houses the state-run TV industry and is located along the Nile in downtown, not far from Midan Tahrir.

Translation:"Dead poison"

This photo was taken on Monday 21 November in front of the Mugamma. Within a few days it was completely covered by new street art.

This photograph was taken on Sunday 27 November across the street from the Maglis Al Sha'ab on Qasr Al-Aini Street.

This photograph was taken on Sunday 27 November on the street of the Maglis Al Sha'ab. The wall was initially covered in only distinctive, pre-planned stencils, over time it has increasingly been covered in impromptu spray-paint.

This stencil is by the street artist El Teneen.

McDonald's

While the adjacent Pizza Hut and Hardee's have since re-opened following the recent Tahrir clashes, McDonald's restaurant on Mohamed Mahmoud St. remains closed. As I passed it today, workers were giving the exterior a fresh coat of paint and getting rid of any traces of street art. While there were no murals on facade, there certainly was spray-paint.

Despite the prospect of new spray-paint and more shattered-windows, the restaurants and storefronts on and around Midan Tahrir consistently cleanup, and cover-up any traces of violence, as soon as it is safe to do so. In contrast when I visited the famed Cafe Leopold in Mumbai months after the 26/11 attacks of 2008, there were still bullet holes visible in the Cafe windows. And it turns out that they're still there.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2669147.ece

While shattered clash should certainly be swept away, what about bullet holes and graffiti? It is itself evidence, isn't it best to let it remain and serve as a reminder? I think it adds a sense of character and authenticity.

But I suppose McDonald's has never been concerned with that.

Transparent Faces

I took these photographs last weekend. While the Wall remains on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, passer-bys are now able to walk up to the wall (or close to it at least, young revolutionaries still stand guard in huddles). Previously there had been a no-go zone complete with barbed-wire and looted Cairo police traffic-barriers and enforced by young revolutionaries. This was the first time I had walked the length of Mohamed Mahmoud Street since the outbreak of the recent clashes. I am quite familiar with the street-- it is the location of the AUC bus-stop-- and was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the street art remained untouched; I wasn't sure if I would find the walls blackened from ash.

The mural depicts those living martyrs who lost their eyes during the recent clashes. All of the faces in the mural were transparent-- their skin was the wall itself. Are the living martyrs a reflection of the street or the realization of it?

One living martyr's face was partially composed of a campaign poster.

Today concluded the second day of the run-off polls in the first round of voting for the Maglis Al Sha'ab (there are three rounds of polls for the lower house of parliament, there will be an additional three round of polls for the upper house early next year). Run-off polls were only in those districts in which an individual candidate (whether in the professional or worker/ farmer category) didn't achieve more than 50% of the vote in the initial poll- thus there were only either two or four candidates on the ballot. There were no run-off polls for the party/alliance-lists.

Voter turn-out is visibly remarkably lower than in last week's election- there is not as much excitement as there was a week ago- it appears the novelty has already worn off for some. There were hardly any lines and also hardly any Muslim Brotherhood volunteers- although the latter perhaps because they had been so helpful before.

http://www.thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt-elections-2011/lower-voter-turnout-in-second-day-of-elections-run-offs-dp3.html

I had one friend who went to the poll and "voted," but in reality scratched his ballot. Unlike his Aunt, he didn't vote because of the alleged 500 pound (100 US dollar) fine- He voted to be a part of the process, yet scratched because he didn't like his options (The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom & Justice Party or the Salafi Nour Party).

Whoever wins and whenever they actually take their seat (Parliament supposedly opens in March 2012), I sincerely hope they don't forget about these martyrs and their families. They are the veterans of a war fought too close to home.

(Mock) Coffins

20 mock coffins bearing the names of those martyrs who died in the recent clashes are in front of the Maglis Al-Sha'ab. Carrying mock-coffins during demonstrations is not uncommon.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/531796

Translation: "Egypt's rights= Martyr's rights"

While Midan Tahrir remains occupied and closed to vehicles, many of the activists have moved to the street in front of the Maglis Al Sha'ab. The street itself isn't a major street and has been closed off by the Central Security Forces many times this fall, but it's occupation nevertheless represents a traffic disruption.

The mood in front of the Maglis Al Sha'ab is different from that in Midan Tahrir-- there are no food vendors in front of the Maglis and no one is selling 25 January t-shirts. The mood is somber and serious, this is not a place to bring a date for popcorn or play a pick-up game of football (as Tahrir has become for some). There is a sense of urgency and attentiveness in the air as activists hand-out flyers detailing their movement's latest demands or George Ishak, who founded the protest movement Kefaya in 2004, speaks to a gathering of people. My friend and I stopped by to listen as an activist started playing a oud (an Egyptian lute). Others began singing and suddenly the circle drew larger; the soft melody bathed the scene in a rosy glow not penetrable by the glares of the army. As the lead office sat down to drink his chai, he appeared calm and I could have sworn I saw one of the younger officer's singing along.

The Martyr

Translation (partly obstructed by the tree):

Martyr

Tarek Abdel Latif

32 years-old, engineer

In light of last Friday's demonstration to honor the martyrs of the recent clashes, this weekend I went in search of another mural in the Martyr Mural Series by the street artist Ganzeer.

This mural is located in El Gezira, near the 6th of October Bridge. It was painted on April 16th, 2011.

The Berlin Wall

I wrote earlier about the wall on Mohdamed Mahmoud St. As I passed the wall today, I found that there were now many pieces of street art on it, not merely the words "Freedom is coming forever." I previously speculated that the existence of one piece of street art on the wall signaled a sense of unity among the protesters. What does the current state of the wall symbolize?

Will this wall soon look like the Berlin Wall? The inside of the Berlin Wall (the side which faced West Germany) was covered in street art, the outside of the Berlin Wall (which faced Eastern Germany) was white. Is there street art on the other side of this wall? I am not able to see it because of the military presence, but I have a guess.

Signs

In addition to street art, Cairo is filled with signs, posters, and stickers.

Posters of political candidates plastered to the wall.

Signs of political candidates hanging from a building or signs strung to the fence of the Maglis Al-Sha'ab demanding the downfall of military rule.

And bumper stickers, not placed on cars, but instead stuck to walls or articles of clothing during demonstrations.

I chose to cover only street art in this blog. I am fully aware that other forms of expression exist on the streets of Cairo, I walk past them every single day. I am, however, a student and do not have the time to thoroughly document everything that I see. While I am not vain enough to think that I can photograph every piece of street art while I am in Cairo, I want to at least give myself a chance.

In high school, I took pictures of the street art in Baltimore for my senior project. (I also kept a blog, here is the link: http://justanothersundaystroll.blogspot.com/). Street art knows no boundaries it is a universal language. Unlike signs, posters or stickers, you can't fold it into your pocket and take it home as a souvenir.

I am putting these photographs of signs on my blog now because the signs themselves have been spray-paint on. The word "القصاص" (retribution) has begun appearing on banners in and around Midan Tahrir.

Translation: "The people want the downfall of military rule immediately and not to raid the Interior Ministry."

This sign is located on the fence of the Maglis Al-Sha'ab. The word "القصاص" is spray-painted on the bottom right hand of the banner.

Eyes

Can this be called street art? Or is it vandalism.

This is one of four lions on the Qasr Al-Aini bridge connecting El Gezira (an island in the middle of the nile) and downtown.

This is a statue of Shiek Omar Makaram in front of the Omar Makram mosque in Midan Tahrir.

Demonstrators marched this Friday to Midan Tahrir in order to honor the Marytrs of the recent clashes. Some wore patches over their eyes in solidarity with those who lost their eyes from rubber bullets in the recent clashes.

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/530191

The loss of eyes was particularly noteworthy in the recent clashes. Ahmed Harara is a lauded figure: he lost one eye during the 25 January Revolution and his second eye during the recent clashes.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/28/179668.html

Below is a stencil of Ahmed Harara taken in front of the Maglis Al Sha'ab earlier this week.

In place of his right eye, 19 November

in place of his left eye, 25 January

BLANK

The letters are gone.

Translation: "Retribution"

As I passed by the Maglis Al-Shura today, there were no longer any English letters on the gate. As I wrote in an earlier post, the majority of the English letters had been removed (taken down, stolen?). Last week someone spray-painted the gate with the words "down with military rule", and finally yesterday someone removed the last of the English letters and wrote "القصاص" (retribution)

The word "retribution" refers to the failure of the government to give justice to the families' of the Martyrs of the Revolution.

Interestingly enough, the building next to the gate had also been spray-painted last week, but was painted over.

Naked

Above are two stencils, found next to each other across the street from the sit-in at the Maglis Al-Sha'ab. On the left is Aliaa Magda Elmahdy and on the right is Samira Ibrahim.

The words in this specific stencil are illegible, they were actively scratched out. The words, however, are legible in other stencils. The following translation is a result of viewing other stencils.

Translation (in between portrait of Elmahdy):

"Samira Ibrahim: 25 years-old, she had been naked by force and checked for her virginity in front of officers and soldiers in the army and she refused not to revenge her dignity and she filed a lawsuit in the Egyptian court. There was no interest... There was no audience...There was no media...There was no life for the killers.

Aliaa Elmahdy: 20 years-old, she stripped and exposed her body clearly by her own wanting. By the hurried manner of the public and the media [to learn about her] and around one million viewed her picture and not less than 50 articles about her and a lot of TV shows."

Translation (below portrait of Ibrahim):

"Tribute and homage to cherish and support For Samira Ibrahim, daughter of Upper Egypt."

Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, a former AUC student, posted a nude photograph of herself on her blog. The picture gained wide-spread notoriety in mid-November about a month after its posting when activist Ahmed Awadalla twitted about it. While Awadalla praised the picture, in general, there was a conservative backlash against it.

Many feared that liberal political parties would be affected in the parlimentary polls.

After rumors circulated, the April 6th movement issued an official statement that Elmahdy was not a member.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/26641/Egypt/Politics-/Nude-photo-blogger-is-not-a-member-of-our-group-Ap.aspx

Legal action has since been taken against Elmahdy for "trying to spread her obscene ideology through nude photos," and "violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam" according to the report filed in court. Furthermore the prosecution believes that Elmahdy should be tried according to Islamic law because Islamic law is the source of the (1971) constitution. The penalty under Islamic law is death.

http://bikyamasr.com/48732/legal-action-against-egypt-nude-activist/

Elmahdy discussed her views with CNN earlier this month.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/19/world/meast/nude-blogger-aliaa-magda-elmahdy/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8

Samira Ibrahim sued the military after being forced by the military to take a virginity test last March. The verdict in the case was expected on Tuesday, but delayed until 27 December. Ibrahim was one of 17 women forced to take a virginity tests after being detained on 9 March when the military attempted to clear Midan Tahrir. SCAF admitted that the virginity tests occurred, but argued that they were a necessary defense should any of the detained women claim that they were raped.

http://thedailynewsegypt.com/human-a-civil-rights/virginity-tests-case-against-military-adjourned-to-dec-27.html

While many Egyptians do not agree with Elmahdy's actions, it is my hope that they nevertheless treat her-- as they should any individual-- with respect, just as Ibrahim should have been. Elmahdy was allegedly beaten upon entering Midan Tahrir last week.

http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/256889/20111128/aliaa-magda-elmahdy-nude-blogger-beaten-tahrir.htm

No matter what an individuals point of view is-- or how much you disagree with them-- I don't believe such behavior is acceptable.

NOTE: All translations on this blog were conducted by me and an Egyptian friend. While we translated to the best of our ability combining our native English and Arabic skills, these translations are not a professional standardized translation of the street art that is available on the internet. We are, however, confident in all translations that we post on this blog.

The Revolution will not be Tweeted.

I was very excited to see this stencil!

As I wrote in an earlier post, following the beginning of the recent clashes in Midan Tahrir, several TV stencils began appearing in downtown. Upon seeing the TV stencils I immediately thought of the late Gil Scott Heron's iconic poem "The Revolution will not be televised," this Twitter stencil, however, appears to be a direct reference to the poem: "The revolution will not be [twitted], the revolution will be live."

(The stencils of the spray-can and the pharaoh are separate.)

I took this photograph across the street from the Maglis Al Sha'ab (The People's Assembly), where there is a continued sit-in (the street itself has been blocked off-- there are check-points -- since last Friday) which began as an attempt to physically block the new Prime Minister Kamel El-Ganzouri from taking office, but has since broaden its message to oppose military rule. (It is unclear what building Ganzouri works in, but he has in fact taken office).

The stencil has appeared along Qasr Al-Aini Street (on which the Maglis is located) leading into Midan Tahrir, but I haven't seen the stencil within the Midan itself.

NOTE: This stencil is in English, there was no accompanying stencil in Arabic.

Twitter is a great source for up-to-date news in Cairo. Some famous Egyptian Twitters are Sandmonkey (who also has a blog by the same name) and Gigi Ibrahim (who appeared on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show after the Revolution).

In addition to activists, many political figures & parites have twitter. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party is very active.

Tahrir Supplies, started during the recent clashes in Tahrir, is both a hashtag and a twitter account, it posts what supplies are needed (medical, food, water, blankets) in the field hospitals in Midan Tahrir and coordinates pick-up/drop-off points for those living far away from the Midan.

#egyelections was a popular hashtag during the recent polls.

day 2

Translation: "Freedom is coming forever."

This photograph was taken on Saturday 26 November, around the corner from The Wall.

Will elections set Egyptians free?

Voting was extended from 1 day to 2 days by SCAF last Friday.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/27635/Egypt/Politics-/Breaking-Egypt-voting-extended-to-two-days-instead.aspx

I have been surprised by the lack of election street art in Cairo. While most street art is in itself political, as far as I have seen, none of it directly references the elections. While I mentioned in a previous post that some candidates painted their names on buildings in the village I visited, I have not seen any such street art in Cairo. Candidates do plaster campaign posters on walls (and in most cases, identical posters directly next to each other) and hang up banners, but there are no interpretative murals depicting their faces or names. Each party and candidate had a symbol (to aid illiterate voters), but none of these symbols were painted on the streets. There is also no street art depicting the importance of voting-- not so much as the word VOTE. Voter education programs certainly exist in Cairo, but they didn't use street art to reach the masses. Furthermore, what does the lack of election street art imply about the street artists themselves?

The Muslim Brotherhood (and their political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party [FJP]) may not have used street art, but they certainly got their message across. At every polling station that I walked past (and as was the same with my friends) in the past 2 days the FJP had a large contingent of volunteers. The FJP had a booth with laptops at each polling station to assist voters with finding their legna (polling station) number (voters needed to record the number along with their name and ID number before voting) in addition t numerous volunteers passing out flyers despite a ban on campaigning 48 hours before elections. Is this freedom?

Remember

This photograph was taken in front of the Mugamma on Saturday 26 November during the on-going occupation of Midan Tahrir.

Saturday November 19th is the day that the recent clashes in Midan Tahrir began after the Central Security Forces (CSF) used violence to evict peaceful protesters from the Midan.

Is this street art a reference to the film V for Vendetta (Remember, Remember the 5th of November)?

As the first round of parliamentary elections began today in Cairo (and 8 other governorates, including Alexandria and Luxor), the April 6th movement encouraged voters to wear black in remembrance of those who died in the recent clashes in Midan Tahrir.

http://bikyamasr.com/49707/egypt-elections-kick-off-activist-mourn-the-dead-protesters-in-wearing-all-black/

Despite the long lines at many polling stations today, it only takes one stroll through Midan Tahrir to Remember the 19th of November.

Is This Chaos?

Translation: "This is Chaos?"

I took this photo on Monday 21 November at The Mugamma.

The street art is a spoof of the famous 2007 Egyptian film "This is Chaos" from the Egyptian director Youssef Chahine. The film focuses on the story of a corrupt policeman (Hatim, played by the actor Khaled Salah) who falls in love with a young teacher (Nour, played by the actress Hala Sadky). He continues to pursue her despite the teacher become engaged to her school's principal's son, a high ranking government official. Hatim proceeds to rape Nour and hide the evidence. Nour and her fiancee pursue the case and eventually find incriminating evidence against Hatim. At the end of the film, Hatim commits suicide.

NOTE: The title of the film does not include a question mark.

Below is a link to the film's trailer (without English subtitles)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooRKVwgxl40

The street art is a picture of Hatim with a gun before he commits suicide. Does the question mark in the street art serve to ask the people if the suicide of the police (of the government) is what they want? While Mubarak was certainly a brutal ruler, he didn't flee to Saudi Arabia, but rather stayed in Egypt to stand in court in front of his people. Do the Egyptian people want revenge or do they want justice? Is there a difference?

The saying goes that the best revenge is living well. It is my hope that the first round of parliamentary elections beginning tomorrow will be Egypt's first step towards living well.

The wall

Translation: "Freedom is coming forever" (hureya geya labd)

I took this photo on Saturday 26 November. The wall can be seen in the back of the photo; it is not currently possible to get closer to the wall.

Below is a zoomed-in version of the photo above. Besides the words "hureya geya labd," there is no other street art on the wall.

The army began constructing the wall on Thursday 24 November in order to stop on-going clashes between protesters (based out of Midan Tahrir) and the Central Security Forces (defending the Ministry of Interior) on Mohamed Mahmoud St., a side street leading into Midan Tahrir.

http://english.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=348962

The army built a wall around the Israeli Embassy in Dokhi (in Giza, across the nile from downtown Cairo), after demonstrations following the killing of Egyptian soldiers by the Israeli army (who were chasing terrorists allegedly involved in the Eliat bombings) on Thursday 18 August 2011.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-builds-concrete-wall-around-israeli-embassy-in-cairo-1.382676

Unlike the wall on Mohamed Mahmoud St., the wall in front of the Israeli embassy was covered in street art.

http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/graffiti-bringing-down-israels-embassy-wall-in-cairo-in-pictures/

The wall in front of the Israeli embassy was torn down on the night of the 9 September demonstrations. Many here compared its destruction to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/protesters-topple-wall-outside-israels-embassy-in-cairo/

What will happen to the wall on Mohamed Mahmoud St.? Will it be torn down? Will it soon be covered in street art? Is the existence of one piece of street art indicative of the fact that the people in Midan Tahrir are united?

The KFC is partially visible on the left side of the photograph. The words "yuskut al musher" (down with the musher) were written on the metal door. These are the first words written on it. As I mentioned in a previous post, there used to be wooden boards, but they were replaced by the metal door roughly a month ago.

NOTE: The AUC bus-stop used to be located a few meters from the wall. The bus-stop has since been re-located.

Translation:" Street of the massacre of the Basher, Mohamed Mahmoud (formerly)"

Mohamed Mahmoud Street, located just off of Midan Tahrir, was the main site of clashes between security forces and protesters last week. The street has since (unofficially) been re-named "Martyr Street."

After the Revolution, the Mubarak metro stop was also renamed "The Martyrs."

The Grim Reeper mural, located down the wall from this mural, remains untouched.

El Menoufia

Translation:

Sadat was from Menoufia.

Mubarak is from Menoufia.

(Essam) Sharaf (former PM, resigned on Monday 21 November) is from Menoufia.

(Kamal) El Shazly (a prominent former member of the NDP who passed away before the 2010 parliamentary elections) is from Menoufia.

(Ahmed) Ezz (a famous businessman under Mubarak who is now in jail awaiting trial, owner of Ezz Steel) is from Menoufia.

(Kamal) El Ganzory (newly appointed PM, former PM from 1996-1999) is from Menoufia.

Menoufia is playing single*

and all of Egypt are standing next.

*in the street art, the Arabic word "single" is simply the English word transliterated. "Single" refers a person playing a game by himself.

Menofia is one of 27 governorates in Egypt. Many prominent members of Egyptian politics have come from Menofia.

This particular piece of street art is not actually painted on the wall, rather it is a sign that was leaned against a wall. If it's portable, it's owner can take it with him when he leaves and protect it from becoming erased. Furthermore because it's portable this street art has a unique owner who can do with it what he pleases. Is this street art? Or must the street own it in order for it to be called street art?

Know thy Enemy

Translation: "Know thy enemy: Hamdi Badeen"

This stencil has begun appearing in downtown Cairo in the last few days, some renditions of it include the words "WANTED." Was the creator of this stencil inspired by the WANTED El Shenawy street art? El Shenawy was, after all, captured.

Hamdi Badeen is the chief of the military police (el shorta el askarya). The military police is in charge of policing the military. After the Revolution and the establishment of SCAF (a military junta as opposed to a civilian transitional council), their jurisdiction expanded to include civilians. The military police now have the power to arrest both police and civilians, hence civilians are now being tried in military courts.

Hamdi Badeen recently said that the army hasn't entered Midan Tahrir since they withdrew in September (the day before the massive 9 September demonstration; since the beginning of Ramadan they had controlled the Midan and allowed no protests). Widely circulated photographs and videos, however, prove otherwise.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/27476/Egypt/Politics-/Military-police-havent-entered-Tahrir-Square-since.aspx

Many activists called for Hamdi Badeen's trial after the Maspero clashes.

http://thedailynewsegypt.com/egypt/maspero-clashes-a-conspiracy-by-scaf-say-political-powers-witnesses.html

Killed in Action

An activist was killed early this morning on Qasr Al-Aini Street, near the Maglis Al Sha'ab- he was run over by a police van & died of internal injuries. Activists began an open ended sit-in in front of the Maglis Al Sha'ab (located close to Midan Tahrir) the night before in order to prevent the newly appointed Prime Minister Kamel Ganzouri from entering office.

http://bikyamasr.com/49534/egypt-protester-killed-at-cabinet-on-saturday-morning/

When I arrived at the scene at approximately 3pm, the area where the activist was killed was cornered off and other activists were explaining what happened to those cars which slowed down to look.

Can something be art if it's real?

Translation: "Blood of the martyr of military rule"

These words-- written in chalk-- were next to the scene.