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Cairo's train station, built in 1853, is the most important station in Egypt: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Waiting for the absent train: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Untitled: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Life in the train stations moves fast: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Banha station, the city before Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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'Your ticket, please.': photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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The train is the only method of transport for people from the south going to Cairo and the delta cities: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Traveling from the village to the city: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Commuting to work outside Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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The train's bathroom is not adequate for human use, so it has became a place to sit instead: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Those riding without paying resort to sitting between train cars or above them: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Commuting to work outside Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
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Untitled: photo by Ahmed Ashraf
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At the back of the train: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Marwan Ali was born in 1968 in Qamishle, Syria. Since 1999, he has published his poetry in several Arab magazines and newspapers. He has published two collections of poetry. He left Syria for Holland in 1996 and now lives in Essen, Germany. His poem Train appears as a supplement to a selection of his work in Banipal 50: Prison Writing, 2014.
Ahmed Ashraf Is an Independent self-taught photographer from Egypt. He has documented events of the Egyptian Revolution, "but quickly realized that documentary photography suited me better... after that i was very Interested in working on personal documentary projects" His work has been published in Time Magazine, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Telegraph, Boston Globe, New York Daily News, Associated Press, The Guardian, Le Monde, EPA and NurPhoto.
Ahmed Ashraf dedicates his Iron Way portfolio "to the soul of Youssef Chahine,"director of the 1958 Egyptian film classic Cairo Station.
Cairo's train station, built in 1853, is the most important station in Egypt: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Whenever the train
goes by your house
it looks back.
That, in spite of the long journey
is the secret of the passengers’ joy.
goes by your house
it looks back.
That, in spite of the long journey
is the secret of the passengers’ joy.
Waiting for the absent train: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Untitled: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Life in the train stations moves fast: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Banha station, the city before Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
'Your ticket, please.': photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
The train is the only method of transport for people from the south going to Cairo and the delta cities: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
.
Traveling from the village to the city: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Commuting to work outside Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
The train's bathroom is not adequate for human use, so it has became a place to sit instead: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Those riding without paying resort to sitting between train cars or above them: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Commuting to work outside Cairo: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Untitled: photo by Ahmed Ashraf
At the back of the train: photo by Ahmed Ashraf from The Iron Way via Jadaliyya, 18 June 2014
Marwan Ali was born in 1968 in Qamishle, Syria. Since 1999, he has published his poetry in several Arab magazines and newspapers. He has published two collections of poetry. He left Syria for Holland in 1996 and now lives in Essen, Germany. His poem Train appears as a supplement to a selection of his work in Banipal 50: Prison Writing, 2014.
Ahmed Ashraf Is an Independent self-taught photographer from Egypt. He has documented events of the Egyptian Revolution, "but quickly realized that documentary photography suited me better... after that i was very Interested in working on personal documentary projects" His work has been published in Time Magazine, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Telegraph, Boston Globe, New York Daily News, Associated Press, The Guardian, Le Monde, EPA and NurPhoto.
Ahmed Ashraf dedicates his Iron Way portfolio "to the soul of Youssef Chahine,"director of the 1958 Egyptian film classic Cairo Station.