The Area of Interest – Midan Al-Tahrir Square; Cairo, Egypt

Midan Al-Tahrir, or more popularly known as Tahrir Square or Liberation Square, has become a central focus in Egypt’s historical quest for democracy through peaceful revolution. The events taking place across the Mid-East and Africa started in Tunisia with the martyring of a fruit dealer. The revolutionary energy soon spread to Egypt where millions of oppressed Egyptians took to the streets of Tahrir Square to show their frustration with the dictatorial regime and to state their desire for a democratic nation.

Tahrir Square is located in central Cairo – a city that covers approximately 280 sq km and is bordered by desert to the east and west and the Nile delta to the north. Tahrir Square is truly the city center as all manners of business are conducted there. It came into existence in the 19th Century during the rule of Khedive Ismael; and was originally called MidanIsmaileyya or Ismailia Square. His idea was to create a ‘Paris on the Nile.’

The Square has been home to much change through occupation and revolution. The British occupied the city center in the 1880s; and during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, with the help of the Sudanese people, the Egyptians forced the Brits out. The British army had declared Egypt a protectorate in 1914 and thus assumed power from the Ottoman Empire. Their hope was to use Egypt as a strategic staging ground for the Great War; it soon became clear however that Egyptians were going to not only have to share the burden of expense, but be involved in a war they had no interest in. Sensing an uprising, the Brits took several demonstration leaders captive which led to greater assembly and cries against the occupation. This ultimately persuaded the Brits to declare Egypt a sovereign state once again and the unofficial re-naming of the square to Liberation Square.

On July 23, 1952, a military coup aimed at overthrowing King Farouk I took place. Though the events of the second revolution took place in January of 1952, it was a series of frustrating events that preceded the coup which brought the situation to a boil. Three failed and short-lived governments were attempted by the King; and as each failed and the country continued to spiral into chaos, a group called The Free Officers readied themselves to seize certain command points that would aide them in their move to power. They ultimately forced the King out and he set sail for Italy on the night of July 26th. It was officially renamed Tahrir Square in 1954 to remove all traces of the former regime.

Now here we are today, in 2011, and yet another Egyptian revolution has taken place. In a time of uncertainty for a region set on changing their direction, Egyptians have once again taken control of their country from the hands of an oppressive regime. We can only wonder though, is this the last time that Liberation Square will be host to an uprising; or has a precedent been set to see another Egyptian revolution in the future?

An overhead view of Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution. Image collected 2/2/2011 by WorldView-1. This panchromatic 50-cm imagery was processed using eMap’s proprietary technique, ImageBoost. (Image courtesy of DigitalGlobe)



Justin Harmon
Senior Editor


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