In my last days in uniform, Antar would accompany me wherever I go. He would sleep next to me in my guard shifts and wake me up if I fell asleep. He was a scary one year old to many, a deep loving dog to few of us.
The Dog Sat Where We Parted
2018-2020
A PERSONAL project of my one year long path through
service in Egypt. I had to do it. Army service is
obligatory for all eligible men here. I could not travel or work
unless I do my time.
Apart from endless guarding hours, miles of walks everyday,
caring for the ill and tending for the wounded as a doctor, I
spent my year of service on a trail around the country. I spent
most of it in solitude. Suddenly, my aspirations, dreams,
feardoms, even my haircut looked just like everyone else’s. It
was one of the greatest challenges in my life; to be stripped
away of my individuality, to submit and to find comfort in a
stranger’s company who looked and dressed just like me.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/31e3554c51c066ee40b8ce66dca8a2febc4795ab2926ca28fddc4a0e3e559d36/01_The-Dog-Sat-Where-We-Parted.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4a142525cfcbe90b9935b79a99513004630f32f1651c5cb99e79fbbe96de6080/20180623_192020.jpg)
I have been marooned.
I have been taught to obey. To follow orders
I have been rediculed
made fun of
beaten
thrown in jail
I caught a geko
I raised three dogs
I heard a snake but never saw it
I cried
a lot
I grew plants. I watered them everyday. Sometimes every other day.
I don’t have a name tag. I’m a soldier. Dressed as a soldier. Referred to as a soldier.
I saw the last lunar eclipse in awe. It was once in a lifetime. I saw the eclipsed moon and our milky way. Together.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/87e04939f5b3dd71ab50f3a78e64795ce31aa3d2bec8a193e035c05ccb6a3dbf/img326.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ba0654646a8cba5016c08303f05e7c482f079c19b0e1afa8a309ec8ad4c58338/The-Dog-Sat-Where-We-Parted8.jpg)
I shaved my head like everyone else.
We wore camouflaged skin that appealed to sand.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1c321b0865af685b7d67f743314ef8a32b33d76d94e6746d110776b75ea8f935/20180325_234923.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/969ab78c063d177ae76cc097a0e7eb5ef5ae534f60347c9e1e765b8830493087/4.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f84989a4698e6d483355ff7641d5d0cbbeeeb7a582854a2f232721840608ada0/2018-03-22-07.20.35-1.jpg)