All photographs by Enas El Masry. It was the year 1995 when my family and I first set foot in one of the –now, many- beaches and resorts of the North Coast (along the shores of the Mediterranean), stretching from the outskirts of Alexandria, and expanding in the direction of Marsa Matruh. Back then, we barely had tap water from surrounding wells, and there was no electricity yet. During the nights, we would light our way using gas lanterns, which was for a late-20th century-kid quite amusing. Despite the lack of so many primary services, the one thing that was there prior to our arrival, and has not changed since our first visit to the North Coast is the tribal presence there. Every year, vacationers flee to the sea and soon flock back to their urban lives, yet the Arab tribes remain stationed. The Arabian tribal existence stretches along the North Coast from El Amriya to El Salloum. Despite the shared origin for most of the northern Arabs, they belong to so many tribes; some of which are Al Barahema, Shetour, Egnashat, Azayem, Egma’at, Ekhrafa, Al Ramly, Al Eshabat, and…
