In this article, we will examine the documented Egyptian usage of the ‘Riyadh’ rifle, which was originally known as the Czechoslovakian-made 7.62×54mmR chambered ZG-51 91/30 bolt-action rifle, a Mosin-Nagant variant. We will examine appearances of the Riyadh in both archival photographs and footage as well as Egyptian popular media such as films.
War of Attrition
Podcast V26 – Part Five: The Statue of Defiance: Collecting Shrapnel and Speaking to Israelis
In this article we continue our interview with Egyptian artist Galal Abdo Hashem. In this part of our series we will examine Galal’s most famous work – the Statue of Defiance. If you missed earlier parts of the interview, you can find them here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.
Podcast V26 – Part Four: Bombardment of Ismalia and Galal’s Close Calls
In this article we continue our interview with Egyptian artist Galal Abdo Hashem. When we reached the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition and October War in our interview with Galal, we tried to get all the possible details we could from him. In the end, he told us that he will speak about the notable incidents as he has many stories that would take months to cover. In this part of our series we will examine the bombardment of Ismalia in 1967. The city was bombarded throughout the War of Attrition, but Galal gave us a few incidents that mainly occurred in 1967 after the Six Day war.
If you missed earlier parts of the interview, you can find them here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three.
Podcast V26 – Part Three: Galal Abdo Hashem – Defiance, Victory and the Dream
In our journey to uncover wartime stories from all sides during the Arab-Israeli Conflict, we managed to meet Galal Abdo Hashem, an Egyptian living in his home city of Ismalia, a city that has witnessed the horrors of war more than once during the 20th century. Galal Abdo Hashem is not a war veteran with military training, in fact, he never fired a single shot towards his enemies, but he decided to do something instead that gained him notoriety and his name written on Egypt’s Honor List. To this day he gives lectures, speaks with journalists, and appears on TV shows to speak about his experience and journey during a time when Egypt was at war with Israel. This article is the story of one of Egypt’s civilians who, despite taking up arms to defend his homeland, decided there was another way to contribute to the war effort – art.