People and streetlife of Egypt 2011:
Background
There is a real danger today, that in the continuing search for 'Ancient Egypt,' modern Egypt is slowly vanishing. I do not want to get into the politics of the situation, so I will limit my comments to the facts. Luxor is being drastically re-shaped. Many buildings have been demolished to make way for the unearthing of the past. This is not all bad news, as some of these, were unsightly high rise hotels that should not have been built in the first place. The down side is, many of the houses on the West Bank were also removed in order to protect possible tombs under their foundations. What was once a picturesque landscape at the foot the mountain, is now an ugly ruined scar. The occupants were moved out to a new custom built village further north. It is very romantic to want the old ways to remain, but for many of the younger people, fresh running water, gas and inside ovens, is seen naturally, as a vast improvement.
I gather the loss of these houses has now been viewed as an architectural mistake, and fortunately, the remaining ones are to be preserved and remain part of the landscape's history. 
The remaining houses
The thing I love passionately about Luxor is the freedom of the human spirit. living in the UK with its ridiculous rules and restrictions, it's wonderful to see people watching a TV on the pavement that has been hot-wired into a lamp post, and know that no one is going to quote some rule or bylaw to prevent it. Why not transport your washing machine on the back of your moped, or go down the wrong side of a dual carriageway if it's easier, or paint white lines down the middle of the road without closing it, the list is endless. The constant hooting of weaving cars isn't from aggression but, 'watch out' I'm here.
We talk of smugly of re-cycling as the new way forward, but frankly, we don't know the meaning of the word, the people of Egypt have been doing it for centuries. One ancient taxi we got into didn't have a single working dial, actually, they just weren't there at all!
There are TV shops where men are soldering away at stripped down museum pieces. We visited one street market in Alexandria where several stalls were piled high, with what we would call, junk. Here people were rummaging around like bees at a hive, emerging with a unrecognizable scrap that may keep the car or donkey cart on the road for another year. For here too, Biblical scenes, and scenes from tomb walls 3000 years old, go hand in hand with modern technology.
My fear is, that this fragile system will slowly vanish, giving way to all the things we think so necessary for modern life, but couldn't be more wrong.
Hence the start of my 'People and Streetlife.' Although I am trying to capture the feel, to share it with you, I am also recording it, for the day when these images too, become 'Ancient Egypt.'
