Details from Alexandria

For a long time I have been attached to the past or the past is attached to me. Either way, the past of my city, the ancient Egyptian port city of Alexandria, is something I feel incredibly strongly about. The dramatic and rapid erasure of the rich built heritage of Alexandria has put us all in a state of negative nostalgia, forcing us to look back and dig into history in an attempt to find a better place. Thanks to constant unplanned destruction and construction the city has become invisible under layers of dust, confusion, malformation and urban chaos. As a result, Alexandria’s inhabitants are becoming unable to communicate and listen to each other, and are unable to see the city as a living organism. As an architect, I have been deeply impacted by the rapid loss of buildings along with their architectural and historical values. The constant fear that the essence of the city will disappear and that I will lose all traces of my own past here, as well as the pasts of others who have lived in this city over the centuries gave me the urge to start documenting what is still standing before people or time tear it down.