Cairo November 2011 - Alex Mayyasi

November 26, 2011

Cairo November 2011 - Alex Mayyasi

November 7. Prosecutor's Office. The stickers, ubiquitous in Cairo, protest

the 12,000 plus military trials that have taken place since the revolution.

November 22. Tahrir Square © Alex Mayyasi

I graduated from Stanford University in the spring of 2011 knowing only one thing about the future - that I wanted to work in post-revolution Egypt. My sights were set on the work of local and international organizations, not photography. But as the world's eyes have turned to Cairo and the renewed revolution in the streets, I have been privileged to be able to share my photography with a wider audience.

The photos shown here were shot as freelance submissions to Al Jazeera English. I have never before photographed breaking news, and I found shooting protests to be full of surprises. Namely, the surreal way in which nothing has changed in the backdrop of a one of a kind situation. As always, vendors try to overcharge foreigners, even if their wares are gas masks. Children excitedly jump in front of the camera. People vie for attention with sophisticated showmanship. And in a way I can never communicate to concerned friends and family, watching tear gas and injured protesters on their TV screens, daily life ultimately asserts itself.

- Alex Mayyasi