MAHAMOUD KHATTAB, ‘The Dog Sat Where We Parted’

MAHMOUD KHATTAB

A personal project of a one-year long path through army service in Egypt. Army service is obligatory for all eligible men here. I could not travel or work unless I did my time. 

Apart from endless guarding hours, miles of walks every day, caring for the ill, and tending to 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, fears, and 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.