A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Why Did Al-Masry al-Youm Print This Picture Now?

The independent Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry al-Youm ran this picture with a very short news story a couple of days ago. The headline of the story reads "Watch of King Farouq Reveals the Borders of Egypt,"

Perhaps I'm reading too much into what could just be a picture Egyptian readers might find interesting, but obviously the King's specially made watch show the borders of what is now Egypt and the Sudan together. This is not news: the King's title was always King of Egypt and the Sudan, though Sudan was then a joint Anglo-Egyptian condominium, the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, until its independence. That's a given, though the short article with the picture makes no reference to the British, and refers to the watch as showing the borders of Egypt at that time.

Is there some sort of message here? Irredentism? Monarchism? Something to do with the Nile waters dispute? Again, I may be trying to read more meaning into this than was intended.

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