Egypt was occupied by British troops long before the Great War. The Suez Canal was a vitally important supply route for the British Empire. During the war, troops and equipment of the Australian, New Zealand and Indian forces passed this way en route for the Western Front, in addition to millions of tons of foodstuffs, minerals and other provisions bound for Britain and her Allies. The importance of the Canal had been recognised by the British Government long before the war, and steps were taken to provide defences.
For most of the ANZAC soldiers who left home with the 1st Expeditionary Force in 1914, Egypt was their first ever foreign country experience. Personal letters, diaries, photographs and historical archives all help us picture how Cairo might have appeared to those men and nurses. It was certainly like nothing they would have ever previously witnessed....the sights, sounds and bustling street life were so different to anything in New Zealand or Australia.
After an overnight twelve hour flight from Hong Kong in a Lufthansa B747 the Bazflyers are in Frankfurt waiting on a flight to Cairo. Over the next few days we will walk in the footsteps of those young men and women and endeavour to get a feeling of what it might of been like for them a century ago.
It was great to finally meet you at Cairo International Airport this afternoon and I hope you liked our surprise with the hotel we have for you. I know you were very tired but our hosting starts properly tomorrow with an itinerary of places to visit that will not only give you a feel for this bustling metropolis but also take you back in time to the streets and sites where those brave young men and women from your home country walked 100 years ago. See you in the morning, Eddie.
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