In the immigration hall of Cairo International Airport above the booths where customs officers process travelers’ passports, visitors idling in the queues now see is a picture of a young boy with his face painted red, white and black — the colors of the Egyptian flag — next to the words: “We should teach our children to be like the Egyptian youth.” The words are a quote from United States President Barack Obama, congratulating the Egyptian people on their revolution that ended the three-decade reign of Hosni Mubarak. The banner is an advertisement for the Egyptian mobile phone service operator Mobinil. Today, in the afterglow of the revolution, Cairo is awash with the country’s official colors. Face painters and flag vendors crowd Tahrir Square. Empty spaces across the capital from street curbs to building walls have been turned into canvases for the colors of Egypt’s rediscovered public nationalism. Companies —
Josh Wood is a journalist based in Boston. He was previously based in Beirut, where he was a correspondent for The National. His work focuses on refugees, US foreign policy and conflicts in the Middle East.
