A youthful facade: old automobiles in Cairo, Egypt
Walking the streets of Cairo ignites immediate insight into the recent complicated history in a country that writes and rewrites its past on official papers. It is March 2014. Post Revolution. Post-Morsi. Post Constitution. A nation booming with an excessive population caught in political unrest and the debilitation of dominant industries and growth. Youth now roam the streets, controlling downtown Cairo's coffeehouses and shops surrounding Tahrir Square. Young women congregate outside souqs, chattering quietly amongst other members of their group, some students or in entry level business attire. The carefully arranged hijab over their hair is juxtaposed with a much tighter, more glamorous trend of thick jewellery, a Western style jacket and brightly coloured leggings. Young men light fresh cigarettes and text on their smart phones, leaning against painted murals which depict 'freedom fighters' who died in violent demonstrations in the past five years. In this time period, there has been a shift in the Egyptian way as a result of political unrest. While the youth take to the streets, queues outside bread stalls are lined with the elderly and middle-class families, pushing for subsidized bread rations. While young entrepreneurs drive tinted-glass Mercedes discussing investments in the Gulf, dust builds on the drop-sheets of vintage model cars outside family homes. Public minibuses and Volkswagen share taxis now explode with a generation that can still remember a very different power struggle in Cairo. A country once built on deep-rooted history is now driven by the modern day. Youth.
