Monthly Photos　Feb 2023

Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa.

(The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

That’s the Public Viewing!!!

I was taking tea as usual at a coffeehouse surrounded by medieval monuments in El Gamaleya district in Islamic Cairo. Then, the shop had an atmosphere of rush and restlessness. As several chairs started to be installed in front of a monitor, men began to gather one after the other —…I see! Today is December 7, the day of a soccer game between Morocco and Spain at the 2022 FIFA World Cup! — I asked a man who came there which team he was cheering, and he replied with a smile, “I’m usually cheering for Spain, but today for Morocco. Because they are also Arab!” In front of the monitor, people were wrapped up in watching the soccer game. Right beside them, trucks piled with a heavy load passed hastily. At the fish shop next to the coffeehouse, women were buying fish without a glance at the game. That’s the very public viewing! This photo is taken with iPhone 11 Pro.

December 7, 2022
A coffeehouse (maqha) in El Gamaleya district, Islamic Cairo
Photograph by Wakako KUMAKURA