After a refreshing and eyeopening 10 days in Beirut, I stumbled upon a simple but sometimes overlooked epiphany.
The people of both countries may belong to the same timezone, share common aspects of historical significance, have aggressive taxi drivers, jungle like traffic jams, and suffer from the similar cultural disease of religious segregation, but the similarities stop there.
They definitely do not look the same, act the same, smell the same, and the list goes on and on…
I will not bore you with what is well known or universally acknowledged, but I will share with you the form of self expression both countries use oh-so often. The randomly beautiful works of art their youth imprint on the rough canvas that is the streets of Beirut & Cairo.
A taste of Beirut
And a taste of Cairo…
… no road blocks will stop them…
This one in Alexandria, Institute of Fine Arts…
Conclusion?
Think what you think, feel what you feel…
But to me, these masterpieces made me see the world through the artists eyes… I felt the culture and sophistication in the Lebanese, the positivism regardless of the everyday wars they have to overcome…And I felt the perseverance and virgin rebellion that is the Egyptian youth of today…
Wanna check out more?
http://www.facebook.com/Graffiti.in.Egypt
http://photobeirut.typepad.com/photos/graffiti/index.html
