Our cruise ship passed the length of Egypt’s Suez Canal, a 120-mile long single lane of water connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. It handles more traffic than the Panama Canal, and is a critical strategic factor in the world economy. The Egyptian army has deployed troops along the length of the canal. I photographed two of them guarding this spot of desert along its banks. Weapons in hand, they stared at the passing cruise liner as if it was an apparition.
Once again, I ask the viewer to imagine what they might be thinking. Two men, alone in the desert, guarding one of the most essential waterways on earth, suddenly look up to find dozens of waving cruise passengers floating by.