Description

A tourist perched on a camel, a Bugatti
at the foot of the pyramids, high tea served
in jasmine-draped gardens ... these are
the images of Egypt under the last kings,
Fuad and Farouk, in the first half of the
twentieth century. This era saw the birth
of organized tourism on a grand scale,
under the guiding genius of Thomas Cook,
with fifty thousand wealthy adventurers
boarding boats each year for the Nile.
Among this throng, however, were those
not content to be simply photographed
in front of the ruins and then return home.
In a country looking towards Europe and
"protected" by the British army, a very
particular social set formed in Cairo
and Alexandria. Within this cosmopolitan,
ephemeral world, cinema and avant-garde
theater flourished, featuring such stars
as dancer Samia Gamal, director
Youssef Chahine, and actor Omar Sharif.

Fascinating and often witty accounts
of these times have been left by Egyptian
writers and celebrated travelers to the
country, including Rudyard Kipling,
Jean Cocteau, and André Gide. Extraordinary
period photographs also survive, from tourists
in white suits and panama hats to exotic
local dancers. Together these accounts
and photographs offer us a rare glimpse
of another era, bringing alive once again
the fragile and effervescent glamour
of Egypt under the last kings.