Egypt has always been a dynamic country, replete with change in society and landscape. It is no surprise then that the country, one of the oldest in the world, often exudes a nostalgic scent often captured in art and photography projects. Slowly, as more globalization and international influences take more room in people’s minds, the structural and architectural identity of Cairo and Alexandria shift: tramways are lifted, old residential buildings are torn down for sleeker options, Islamic architecture and motifs become less prevalent in the face of IKEA and Scandinavian designs. Yet, the memory of elegant and simpler times remains. It is these exact vestiges of an Egypt that once was that many photographers attempt to capture. “Have they ever told you about a city with a taste of time?’’ thus muses 29-year-old Samar Baiomy regarding El Max, a decaying spot in Alexandria, which she has been photographing since 2016. El Max is known as a fishermen neighbourhood at the West of Alexandria. Its most recognizable feature is the freshwater canal, the Mahmudiya, which was dug in the 19th century to carve a channel of water from the Nile to…
