The Narcicyst, an Iraqi hip hop artist (and scholar!) based in Canada, released this video in honour of the one-year anniversary of #Jan25. Most of the scenes are from around Cairo, though it does dip outside of the city into Nile farming country and what could even be a few shots of the Mediterranean in Alexandria. Perhaps most important, however, are the scenes of everyday life that continue within the midst of revolution. Men gathered in cafes playing dominoes and smoking sheesha, a sister in a niqab standing on the beach, apartment-dwellers lowering buckets to the street to receive the letters or goods they’re expecting, shopkeepers peddling their wares, crumbling tenement housing that has been split into tiny rooms by curtains and winding alleys… These are the daily sights of Egypt that are underappreciated and often unnoticed by tourists and journalists alike. It’s a beautiful expression of both poverty and change, but also of life in general.
One commenter on the video summed it up very well: “We are on the verge of chaos and everything is perfect!”
