The current exhibit at the American University in Cairo’s Sony Gallery is like peering into some of the most important moments in African and Middle Eastern contemporary history.
Although many of the photographs by Aladin Abdel Naby were taken in war zones, they capture rare humane moments anyone can relate to, despite the backdrop of violence and pain.
One picture shows a smiling little girl peering through green doors smack in the middle of the chaotic war in Iraq. Across the hall, is a hand reaching through metal bars, flashing a V for victory behind El Azhar’s doors in Cairo during a violent demonstration.
Other photographs are more hard-hitting, like the picture of an Iraqi squatting with his hands tied up and his head covered with a bag, flanked by two American soldiers.
Abdel Naby has been a photojournalist for almost half his life, working for Reuters for 20 years, hence the title of the exhibition “Wired: 20 years in photojournalism. This exhibition shows some of the highlights of his work over the past 10 years where he covered Egypt, North Africa, Sudan, Central Africa, Iraq and Iran.
Soft news photos – which include some beautiful nature shots like a lone camel rider traveling through the desert at sunset – occupy another part of the exhibition. Some odd news photos include a fascinating picture of a pair of feet fixing a watch.
Pictures of the Akram Khan dancers performing Ma at the Cairo Opera House capture three bald men doubled up in perfect symmetry, with their heads touching the floor in front of their bodies. The light is shining through the spaces between their heads and legs, giving them an air of mysticism.
Abdel Naby himself is lively and passionate, his eyes exuding excitement and friendliness. He explained how he began as an amateur photographer, at a time when he was determined to become a professional guitarist.
While studying Journalism and Mass Communication at AUC, he took some photography classes, “but due to all my years as an amateur, I was a bit more advanced. I even had my own dark room, he told Daily News Egypt.
By 1980, he gave up music for full-time commercial photography which he did for many years, until a twist of fate landed him in the career for which he is now acclaimed.
In 1985, the squash World Open was scheduled to be held in Egypt, and a friend of Abdel Naby, who worked for Reuters at the time, asked him to cover the event for the agency. Abdel Naby jumped at the chance, not because he wanted to be a photojournalist, but because he was a squash player and was excited to watch the games and see Jahangir Khan, the world’s top champion at the time.
Reuters liked the photographs he shot and started using him as a stringer. One year later, he was offered a full-time position as a senior photographer and the rest, as they say, is history.
“It is not news photography that got me hung to this profession, it’s the lifestyle of a news photographer: Traveling, being on call, the danger and the adventure, says Abdel Naby, his eyes lighting up.
Abdel Naby has covered numerous wars including the Sudan coup; the revolt in south Somalia; Yemen and Iraq.
Without hesitation, he says that his worst experience in a war zone was in Iraq.
But Yemen, on the contrary, was “dangerous but fun… They stop the war from 1 pm to 4 pm to chew qat then they go back, he says laughing. Qat leaf is the Yemeni social drug, chewed by almost the entire population.
The most exiting assignment in Abdel Naby’s career was in 1989, during the Sudan coup. When he knew about it, he wanted to fly immediately but all the commercial flights were cancelled. Determined, he managed to get through to a top Sudanese official who arranged for permission to land a charter plane there.
“It wasn’t only a scoop, it was an exclusive for Reuters because after that they did not give permission to anyone even with private jets, recalls Abdel Naby. “We were the only ones there for 13 days . they let us do whatever we wanted. Everyone [other news agencies] came when we were leaving.
After having his photographs published all over the world for 20 years, Abdel Naby had to resign February 2006 due to a health condition that stopped him from traveling anywhere without medical facilities. Today he is teaching photography, which he says is a new challenge he enjoys tremendously. He is planning to stay away from photojournalism from now on, and go back to artistic photography which is how it all began.
Wired: 20 years in photojournalismThe Sony GalleryMain Campus, the American University in Cairo9 am- 9 pm
