Forty Years Ago Today . . .

. . . I was in Downtown Cairo a few kilometres from President Sadat when he was gunned down in a hail of bullets.   Forty years ago tonight, in Cairo Airport, I said I loved the country but that I'd wait thirty years before returning to give it time to improve on all social, economic and political fronts.  Thirty years later, I did return to begin a reencounter with the country which, through all its sometimes hopeful ups but always terrible downs, led to the publication of the above book just over five years ago.   It relates what it says on its cover.   The parade of presidents drawn from the military goes on, not even the election of a civilian stood in its way for long.   So, now, forty years later, has Egypt improved on all the before-mentioned fronts?   Sadly, the answer is dream on.

Here's a link to me at the assassination site five years ago . . .

https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2170906499352628784