ImageNations

The Stargate

2009-01-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

The Stargate

Whenever I see this picture I don't immediately see the gorgeous sunrise or the vibrant colors. First, I remember the photos that I no longer have. They were from the same roll of film but they are no longer with me because they were purchased by a studio in Hollywood a long time ago to dub into a film called "Stargate". I remember them because it was such a strange phone call I receieved one day.

STUDIO: Hello, can I speak to Kristie Burns?

ME: Yes, this is her.

STUDIO: Hi, I am from studio <> and we need some pictures of the pyramids for the Hollywood Movie Stargate.

ME: Who is this again? Lorraine? Is that YOU? (thinking this was a joke from my friend Lorraine)

STUDIO: No, really, I am from the studio <>. We received your name from Nancy at the American University in Cairo.

ME: Oh! Sorry. What did you need again?

STUDIO: We need some pictures of the Pyramids that don't have any people in them. All the pictures we have searched through Blackstar and the other stock agencies all have people or foreground images or camels.

ME: I have some without people (honestly they were going to go into the trash bin the next day because who wants pictures of the pyramids without people anyway? LOL)

STUDIO: Can you send them to us so we can perhaps use one?

ME: What movie is this for again?

STUDIO: Stargate.

ME: (thinking what person would name a movie Stargate and what kind of low-budget flick was this anyway) OK, can you provide me with your name and address? (Thinking, well, they were going in the trash anyway...so I can risk sending them to some low-budget random film I guess).

STUDIO: I can also give you our FEDEX number.

Two weeks later they send me a thank you letter, a couple mini-posters of the film promotion with the names of some actors I actually recognized and they paid me for three of the photos and used one in the film! I had no idea what a big deal the film was until years later when it became well-known and then became a famous mini-series. I like thinking about my photo being dubbed into the opening scene of the first movie of a series that boasts of being "the longest running science fiction series" in television history. I LOVE science fiction!

I've only watched the opening scene about five times but I can definately recognize my photo!

So how did I manage to get photos without people in them anyway?

Today you can't get a photo like this because the Egyptian government has put safety walls around the pyramids and added a few tourist buildings to the site. Even back then it was hard to get pictures that evoked a mood of timelessness. Usually the pictures were filled with mini-skirted tourists, kids with binoculers and camels.

To get the photo above I stayed up until 2 in the morning and then took a taxi to the pyramids with a gentleman I had met through a friend who was also a photographer. He had a friend at the pyramids who didn't mind letting us in early and illegally to the grounds as long as the guy brought "a pretty woman and some money".

Now don't even think it! All I had to do was smile and be nice to the guy and pay him some money. He didn't require any more services.

So we were mounted on the back of some quiet horses and rode in the dark to the top of a sand dune overlooking the pyramids. We arrived on the hill and it was still dark and very very cold. We got out our tripods and our camera equipment and set up. We watched the sunrise over the city and over the pyramids and took as many photos as we wanted to.

We were in the middle of taking photos when our guide said "pack up!" The police had spotted us and were coming towards us on camels. Somehow we packed up and managed to take a back route out of the area. By the time we arrived at the stables there were other tourists around and it was impossible for the police to tell who they had seen at a distance on the pyramid grounds.

We chatted with them casually and went on our way - giggling all the way back like a couple of High School students who just TPed their teacher's front lawn or something.

The Game

2008-12-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

I remember the first time I entered a cafe in Cairo. I had just come from Chicago, the land of the "hip cafes" and my idea of a cafe was that it was the perfect place to sit and write in my journal, read a book or have a latte. However, my landlady soon found out about it and knocked on my door one day with some information. It was 1989.

"Only certain kinds of women sit in cafes alone" she informed me, "people will think things."

So the next time I went I brought my friend Susan. She loved the cafes as much as I did. All of them open to the streets, a great place for watching people and they didn't have lattes but they had awesome Turkish coffee - we loved ours "Mazboot" (with lots of sugar). And we got to practice our Arabic and received the best service!

We found out later that this was because not only did single women NOT frequent cafes but women in general did not go to cafes. You would think we would have noticed this, but Susan and I were oblivious. I can't remember who informed us, but by the time they did, we already had a lot of local friends at the cafe and we were addicted. I'm not sure if it was to the cafe atmosphere, or the great view it allowed us of the square or if it was to the coffee itself. Years later I wrote an article on cafes in Cairo and learned that hundreds of years ago coffee was actually banned as falling into the realm of "alcoholic beverages".

I often look back and wonder how much business we brought that little cafe on the corner of our street. We would often join in a game and even if we didn't we had a lot of fans who would come by and say hello or invite us to play. We were young college girls. I think we liked the attention. It was like having our own fan club. And all the older gentlemen were very polite to us and very protective if anyone tried to bother us.

I remember once I was passing by the cafe on my way back from the bakery and was groped by a young boy who apparently thought all Western women were "fair game". He was quite suprised when I yelled out in Arabic "Don't Touch Me" and about 15 men came out of the cafe, surrounded him in anger and started to reprimand him. The next time I saw him he crossed to the other side of the street!

The only drinks on the menu were Lipton tea with lots of sugar, Turkish coffee, a local Egyptian beer called "Stella", Omar Khiyyam Wine (a local red) and an Egytian version of the Greek "Ouzo" - I can't remember what it was called.

I am sure a lot has changed in modern Egypt. I think they even have Starbucks there now. But back in 1989 the cafes were pure Egypt.

Siwa Village Girl

2008-12-23T14:55:00.000-08:00

Even back in 1990 it was hard to find a place on earth that has been untouched by MacDonald's or Nike and was not swarming with tourists. I was always travelling to some remote area in the Middle East but it always seemed that even the most remote places on earth had been tapped as some sort of tourist trap. Siwa was one of those "almost untouched" places I found in 1992. Well, I didn't actually find it. It was mentioned in all of the Lonely Planet Guides and was on the map. However, it was so remote and hard to get to that very few tourists actually took the time to visit and when they did, it was briefly and not very often.

This is probably because Siwa is on the very edges of Egypt, on the Libyan border.

So I arrived in Siwa in 1992 with an Egyptian friend and was the only non-Egyptian in the entire village. Everyone knew I was there - especially since I was tall with red hair. The residents all seemed very fascinated with me when I first arrived and many people were eager to show me the area. However, after a few days word about who I was and why I was there had spread and I was able to take some photos without disturbing anyone.

One thing that was fascinating to me about this village was that all the married women were required to be completely veiled in tent-like cloth. Because this was akin to going around with a blanket over your head, it was hard for them to manage in public, so usually the children would do most of the public tasks like shopping or driving the horse carts, etc...Men would be working or "hanging out" in the village cafes. It was amazing to see such small children functioning in their adult roles - doing the weekly shopping, driving, etc...I took a lot of pictures of children in the village. They all seemed to enjoy the tasks they had. It was like they were "playing house" - they were having fun! And they had a lot more freedom than children do in America today. These children had a few tasks and chores but when they finished them they were allowed to roam and adventure in and out of the village as they liked.

This photo is of a young Siwan girl on the way to market.

The Man with the Gun

2008-11-25T22:13:00.001-08:00

The Story of The Man with the Gun

One of my favorite assignments when I was living in Cairo in 1992 was with La Terre Lointaine, a French magazine for children. The journalist I worked with was energetic, enthusiastic and interested in everything around her. Claire chose an Egyptian guide to take us around Egypt. He was from the upper class of Egypt, so he was not your typical guide. She chose him because he actually owned a car and spoke French as well as Arabic and English. I think she may have met him before in France, too. I am not sure, but I am sure that he had a big crush on her the entire week we travelled together researching and photographing for the magazine. That was fun to watch.

We were quite the trio - a well dressed Egyptian man in a nice car, a tall American girl with red hair and a small blond French woman with an eager smile. It was not hard to meet people.

Our first trip was down the coast of the Nile into some smaller Egyptian villages. On the way to one of these villages we stopped to take a look at some funny water-buffaloes near a bridge. Without even thinking I took out my camera and snapped some photos of the "gamoos".

I had forgotten that it was illegal to "take pictures of bridges" in Egypt.

Before I had even had time to put my camera down to my side I was looking into the barrel of a gun. Besides the fact that this was the first time I had ever seen a gun in front of my face, it was also being held by someone who didn't seem to have much experience with guns.

In fact, most people who held guns in Egypt did not seem to have much experience with guns. In fact that was one of the strangest things to see every day. On every corner of every major street there was a young man around the age of 20 holding a very large gun. After living in Egypt one became accustomed to seeing the guns all over. However, I never became accustomed to the way the "boys" held or managed their guns. I saw them using the bayonets to poke kittens out of bushes (which I then rescued at the risk of being shot), twirling them, leaning on them, casually holding them at odd angles...everything that had me convinced they had no idea how to use the weapon or even hold it safely.

Whenever I saw someone holding a gun I would cross the street.

So, it was probably the most terrifying experience of my life to be looking at one pointing in my face.

Our Egyptian guide immediately started to talk to him in Arabic. I thought it best not to speak even though I understood what they were saying. However, while they were exchanging a couple sentences I did the strangest thing. While the gun was pointed at my head I snuck my hand down to the camera, took out my film and put in a new one so they would not be able to take my film. It felt so excitingly deceptive. Like I was a famous war photographer and I can been captured by ....

POP. I woke up from my dream. The soldier looked very angry and asked for the film in my camera. I laughed to myself. Ha! He may have put a gun to my face but he was NOT going to get my pictures of the .... of the...what? All I had on the film was a couple of water buffalo.

Looking back it was obviously a sign of shock that I would risk angering the gunman for a couple shots of some silly cow-like animals.

Luckily he just wanted to assert his authority in the village so he took my film, made us fill out some paperwork at the police office and then let us go. But not before flirting with me shamelessly and then asking me to take his picture.