Of interest is to what extent the paving has been filmed on the streets of Cairo (or indeed elsewhere in Egypt). As such, there is, perhaps somewhat surprisingly (given its now very frequent occurrence, over numerous districts), very little footage, and furthermore, what little there is, is all of an ‘incidental’ nature, where the filmmaker is concerned with other matters besides the paving. Indeed, appearances are at a premium, with (so far) just three instances. The footage is admirable for showing the sheer extent, essentially as a tour (something which no photograph can hope to achieve). However, this is not to mean that such footage, incidental or not, does not exist! With Cairo being a major capital and tourist hotspot, it is likely that the paving has indeed been caught on video but people obviously do not recognise the significance of the paving.
Of the three recordings (and possibly a fourth), these are from, or involving, President Anwar Sadat, The American University in Cairo (AUC), twice, and at a sighting of a place unknown. The ‘possible fourth’ is at the Old Cataract hotel, Aswan, described below. The best video, by far, is the third one.
In order of chronology, these are:
1970–1981, President Sadat
The first recorded instance of the Cairo tiling on film, and a notable nature, is with the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat! However, the footage is not dated. Given that Sadat was in office from 1970–1981, this gives a rough approximation as to the date.
http://modernegypt.bibalex.org/MediaViewer.aspx?VideoID=VI_1
http://modernegypt.bibalex.org/MediaViewer.aspx?VideoID=VI_3
Sighting Unknown 28 January 2011
This was a BBC film report on the 2011 Egyptian unrest, with the paving appearing in the background during an interview. So far, I have been unable to locate this sighting. Does anyone know where the interview was conducted? N.B. forward the video two minutes to get to the relevant tiling part:
UPDATE LOCATION KNOWN, BUT FORGOTTEN!
American University in Cairo, 16 March 2012
This is by far the best footage, with a tour around the AUC Greek campus, the paving featuring prominently in the background.
Another possible capture on film is in a scene from Death on the Nile, of 1978, at the Old Cataract hotel, Aswan. However, the scene is so short, of a fleeting glimpse, that I am unsure if the paving is detectable.
And that’s it! Does anyone know of (ideally old) footage showing the paving? I would be especially interested in films of the campus grounds of the (downtown) AUC. Given that this is a prestigious establishment, it is a distinct possibility that footage would exist of the grounds. Even a negative outcome would be of significance, in that one could say ‘at least not from…’ . Also, the Old Cataract hotel sighting would likely to have been filmed, and possibly too the grounds of the El Alamein War museum.
Page History. 15 August 2025. Reappraisal in New Sites. General tidying up. The conversion had left wide open spaces around the text, now corrected.
The page had dated somewhat, predating the date of the instigation, with informed guesses as to the date, not knowing this at the time. I now amend, pending a more considered review.
Created: 7 December 2012