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Stories by Joshua Mikhaiel

Street photographs from Egypt

My first visit to Egypt was an opportunity to make photographs for Open Doors and to spend time in the country where my father grew up. Visiting his city made the journey deeply personal.

Alongside that work, I photographed streets, people and landscapes. These images are a small record of what I noticed and the places I was able to spend time in.

A lone person stands beside a broad riverbank with low buildings across the water in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A passenger looks out through a small window in a yellow vehicle in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A man rides a scooter along a busy city street in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A shadowed storefront and weathered doorway line a city street in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The front of an old yellow car sits at the edge of a dusty Egyptian street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A donkey cart moves along a busy street between apartment buildings in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A man stands beside a swimming pool and parked car beneath apartment balconies in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A view over densely packed rooftops toward the water in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
An elevated view looks across densely packed apartment buildings in an Egyptian city, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A small cross is fixed to a dark doorway while pedestrians pass in the background, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A man sits on stacked sacks beside the water in Egypt, with apartment buildings in the haze behind him, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
An older man sits in a brightly painted boat beneath a canopy in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Apartment blocks rise above a crowded urban intersection in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Weathered balconies and leafy trees fill the facade of an older Egyptian city building, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A dense row of worn buildings sits beside the water in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A man in a wheelchair waits by a city street in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A construction site and unfinished concrete buildings rise above a dusty street in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A quiet road runs between apartment blocks in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A blue wall painted with Arabic lettering stands behind a parked car in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A curved elevated road passes weathered buildings in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Shoppers gather beside a stone building at a busy market in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Three men ride together on a motorbike along an Egyptian street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A worker loads a small truck beside a mound of rubble in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A pickup truck squeezes through a narrow alley lined with piled rubbish in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Cars travel through a narrow, crowded street between tall buildings in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A pickup truck moves past apartment buildings on an Egyptian city street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Two men sit on stools beside a parked car on a Cairo street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A man in a white head wrap stands aboard a boat in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A small market stall glows under warm lights on a dark Egyptian street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A young girl sits in a doorway in the dim light of an Egyptian street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Pedestrians and a donkey cart move through a narrow alley in Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Tall apartment buildings and overhead wires line a busy Cairo alley, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A decorative shuttered window is set into a weathered building facade in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A small vehicle and pedestrians pass shops along a busy Egyptian street, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A market vendor stands behind crates of green and dark fruit in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Kitchenware and other goods hang outside a shop with Arabic signs in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A child looks out through the open window of a car in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A domed historic building rises above the streets of Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A woman walks along a city bridge with Cairo buildings behind her, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The sun sets over the dense Cairo skyline, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Two people watch the sun sink over Cairo, their figures dark against the orange sky, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Several people sit together in silhouette as the sun sets over Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A hazy Cairo skyline rises above closely packed rooftops, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A shaft of daylight falls through an opening onto the rough stone interior of an Egyptian monument, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A horse-drawn cart crosses an open desert plain beneath a blue sky in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A white pickup truck drives among traffic on a Cairo road, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The setting sun reflects in a car window above the road in Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A camel and rider wait in the desert with the pyramids in the distance, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The Great Sphinx sits in profile beneath a clear sky, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A busy neighborhood street is seen through a dark, arched opening in Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A motorized rickshaw travels past apartment buildings and traffic in Cairo, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The sun sets over a flat, open landscape in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
The Nile and its green banks stretch toward distant hills in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
A boat crosses the Nile at sunset, framed by its dark rigging, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.
Two men sit talking on ancient stone steps in Egypt, photographed by documentary photographer Joshua Mikhaiel.

The photographs were made with a Canon 5D Mark III and 35mm or 50mm lenses.

To learn about the organisation that brought me there, visit Open Doors. If you would like to ask about a print from this series, get in touch.

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