Egyptian Revolution Celebrations in London

Today, I was fortunate to celebrate the victory of the Egyptian Revolution in London's Trafalgar Square with my fellow Egyptians. Below are a couple more photos to capture the overwhelming joy of many Egyptians like myself who wished to be in Tahrir, instead of Trafalgar, Square taking part in a well-deserved victory of the Egyptian people.

I pray that Egypt's new dawn will usher a revival of our nation's glorious civilization.

Jan 29, 2011: Egyptian Demonstrations in London

A couple of photos I had taken during the outbreak of the Egyptian Revolution. On January 29, approximately the Egyptian community in the U.K. stood outside of the Egyptian Embassy in London for hours to protest the police brutality and despotism of the Mubarak regime against Egyptian civilians. Approximately 2,000 students from various London universities joined Egyptian demonstrators to express their solidarity and support with the Egyptian people in their pursuit of freedom and justice.

I hope my photos provide a glimpse into the passion, love, and dedication these demonstrators showed for Egypt and its people.

For a more professional photographic coverage of these events, please visit Athoob's page at athoob.com.

The Triumphant II

Photos of Al-Mu'izz Street by night during Ramadan (August 29, 2010).

The Triumphant I

Photos of Al-Mu'izz Street around sunset (August 26th, 2010).

Snow

I've realized that staying in one place for 24 hours makes you think a lot. My thoughts aren't innovative, ingenious, or grandiose. Rather, I began to think about the simple things, like washing the dishes, boiling some fava beans and eggs for breakfast, pouring the milk and realizing that its the same degree of white as the snow. When there's no rush, one tends to think about the simple things in life. These are the thoughts of someone stranded on an island.

Rather, I find myself stranded on a snowy island. Snow has engulfed my apartment to the extent that I can't open my front door. I had only heard of such snow storms up north in Montreal and Michigan, but never could have fathomed that they would take place down south in Cville. The silence and emptiness caused by the storm is almost scary. Its as if life has ended

I know that back home in Egypt, this storm would be unbelievable, so I think its worth sharing this experience.

Today, I was supposed to fly out of Cville to the sunny Egypt. Instead, after waking up to an unusual chill, I was shocked to look out my window and see that the snow had climbed quarter way up my window.

Snow quarter way up my bedroom window

At this point, I thought I must be dreaming, but when I went to look out the door, I couldn't open the door. I was trapped inside my house.

I don't think writing about it does much justice. Pictures really are worth a thousand words in this case, so enjoy:

View from my kitchen window

View from my doorstep

I'm the type of person who likes to be on-the-run and always outdoors, so this snow is a bit frustrating, but I think it is also an opportunity. I've never really spent a whole day in this apartment since I moved in, so this may be an excellent opportunity catch up on some reading and watch a film. Come to think of it, I might learn a thing or two about spending time alone. But first, back to packing for Egypt.

Lost In The Wilderness: Ragged Mountain

Charlottesville's weather had been muggy all week. Surprisingly, today was a divine blessing: sunny, colorful, and cheerful. What an ideal day to spend outdoors. Tim, my dutch friend, and I discovered heaven on earth just a couple of minutes driving distance from where we live. This paradise is the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. Tim and I share several interests ranging from literature to sports, but nature is a prominent one.

Tim revealed this magnificent forest to me a couple of weekends ago. Ever since, I've been dying to go back. Every time we go on a hike there, we discuss everything and anything about life, philosophy, world affairs... you name it! As we walk through oak, pine, and maple trees, we are awed by the charm of the autumn milieu. The multitude of colors makes walking through this forest almost a surreal experience.

The forest with its multitude of colored leaves

Our mission on these hikes it to reach the lake. This is where the lake's real enchantment reveals itself. Since we usually come towards sunset, the glistering reflection of the sun on the water lends an almost divine atmosphere to the place. Looking at the lake at this time of the day is as if looking at the most beautiful starry constellation God has to offer.

The sun's reflection off of the lake

There is always such a serenity to this place. This is what I've always been craving to discover in Charlottesville. One's soul feels refreshed by sitting among the trees. The scenery is one the calms the senses.

This time around, Tim and I decided to get some reading done. As we drove along the winding road to the parking lot, we listened to some heavenly Mozart music and looked forward for a pleasant day. We never would have imagined what turn of events were waiting around the corner for us.

We reached the park around 3:30pm. Equipped with our books and camera, we set off along the trail we knew best. We followed this path up and down several hills through the mushy ground filled with dry leaves and residue of this week's rain. Upon reaching the lake, we decided to continue our exploration expedition. Why settle for beauty when you can have more? This was the notion we had behind continuing further into the wilderness. What we didn't take into account was that after sunset, there would be a very slim chance for us to escape the grasp of the wilderness.

Deviating from the trail, we reached a huge dam. The curiosity in us pushed us along. We decided to cross the dam to reach the other side of the lake. Ahead of us lay a huge mountain. By our calculations, we could cross this mountain to circumvent the lake. What we hadn't noticed was that we were racing against time. The clock was ticking, and it would soon be sundown.

A photo of Tim on the dam

A photo of myself on the dam

We reached the summit of this second mountain around 4:30pm. We had reason to worry at this point since the sun would set in half an hour. We decided to turn back. The joy of a pleasant stroll turned into anxiety. Fasting, my body was almost depleted of energy at this time. Luckily, Tim had some chocolate to rejuvenate my body. As we rushed back to climb the second mountain, we realized that we had lost our trail. We began to panic as the sun was showing its last rays. If we lost the sun, we would have no way of getting out of here. The sun was our only hope to finding the right path.

We climbed the summit of the first mountain, which was at 980 feet. We needed the right path to descend. Every time we found a trail, it would lead us to a dead end. The belief that God would guide me back home put me at ease. I have to admit that Tim was panicking a bit. If worst came to worst, we would spend the night here until sunrise next morning. After running around at sunset, Tim and I stopped. Instead we would use our animal instinct to re-trace our footsteps. One clue led to another. Suddenly, I found a smooth surface. This must be the trail, and indeed it was!

Just as the sun was saying its last goodbyes, we used the remaining light to run down the right path. We ended up in the marshes at the foot of the hill. This wasn't quite where we'd parked the car, but at least we were on the right side of the mountain. We made it out alive! What a nightmare we'd been through! I believe my deep conviction that God was overseeing our endeavor to escape had become a reality. We hopped in the car with the rush of adrenaline still in our system. We were saved in the nick of time! This was just another instance that miracles do happen. This is another one of my Charlottesville adventures that I wouldn't let slip away without a blog post.

Ragged Mountain's Enchanting Lake