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Baba’s Art School – 101: #19

Writer's picture: Paul G. ChandlerPaul G. Chandler

“You can’t begin too soon to encourage an appreciation of art! And each artwork has a story.”


Sunshine over “The City of all Cities”


Baba showing his three grandchildren paintings of Cairo by English artist Roland Prime.


Many today are longing for a new dawning in our world. It seemed the perfect time to introduce my grandchildren to two luminous paintings by the English artist Roland Prime, where the sun shines over what is often referred to as “The City of All Cities” – Cairo, Egypt.


I’ll never forget the first morning I woke up in the magnificent city of Cairo. The year was 1990. Out my hotel window overlooking the great Nile River, dawn colored the sky. Off in the distance I could see the silhouettes of the Great Pyramids of Giza. Slowly the city itself came to life, full of vibrancy, wonder and mystery.


With a population of over 22 million, Cairo is the largest city in both Africa and the Middle East. Its majestic pyramids are reminders of the city’s pharaonic glory. At the same time, Cairo is one of the most culturally layered cities in the world, where many of history’s conquering powers left their permanent mark over the centuries – Greek, Roman, Christian, Arab, Islamic, Turkish, French, British. It has been the seat of pharaohs, sultans, dictators and kings, and the prize of conquerors from Alexander the Great to Saladin to Napoleon. The name “Cairo” in Arabic (al-Qahirah) literally means "the Victorious.” As history attests, Cairo has never ceased to reinvent herself.


Roland Prime, Sunrise over Cairo, 2011, Oil on canvas


How does one even begin to describe this ancient and multifaceted metropolis today? It truly dazzles the mind. As someone focused on the arts, I like to refer to Cairo as an open-air museum. With the Nile River dividing the city in two, antiquity and modernity live side by side on both its banks. Medieval churches, ancient mosques, and colorful bazaars conjure up images of A Thousand and One Nights. Often nicknamed “The City of a Thousand Minarets,” its streets are crammed with cars and people, cafes and shops. Its sounds, smells and sights compete for attention as they spread a feast for the senses. One doesn’t just visit or live in Cairo, one “experiences” it.


Never did I imagine that first morning in Cairo that years later I would get to spend a decade of my life as one of its residents, living within its delightful rhythm of enchantment and chaos. It was an immeasurable privilege to raise my daughter and son in Cairo (2003-2013). I can’t image a safer and more culturally stimulating place to raise children. While the city truly impresses, it is her people that made the ten years there so meaningful, as Egyptians are the very embodiment of Middle Eastern hospitality. It was also the place I experienced the truest sense of community, where I was introduced to those whom I count among my best friends. This sense of community was perhaps most powerfully demonstrated during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011, as Egyptians sought to make sure that we, whom they saw as their guests, were sheltered and protected throughout that tumultuous period, as the world anxiously looked on from afar.


In 2009, British artist Roland Prime was living and working in Cairo as well. It was a moment in time when relations between the cultures of the Middle East and West were fraying, and Roland, a few Egyptian artists and I sought to bridge the divide through the arts. Roland was a founding curator for CARAVAN’s first bridge-building art exhibitions, as well as a participating artist in them. Out of those early East-West artistic initiatives came the formation of CARAVAN Arts, an international arts non-profit.


I was drawn to Roland’s artistic energy, and he became a good friend. These two paintings of Cairo by him are therefore profoundly meaningful to me. Sunrise over Cairo, which Roland painted in 2011 while still living there, is an impressionistic portrayal of this remarkable city. In the work, he vividly captures Cairo’s vastness, amidst the desert on all sides. I love how he paints the brilliancy of the sunrise, where light permeates even the densest parts of the city. One thing you are always assured of in Cairo is sunshine. This perhaps explains why the predominant deity in ancient Egypt was Ra, the god of the sun, who brought light, warmth, and growth, and who was seen as the creator of all other gods and humans.


Roland Prime, Cairo Sunset from the Citadel, 2020, Oil on Canvas


Roland’s second painting, titled Cairo Sunset from the Citadel, is a work I commissioned as a wedding gift for the parents of my newest grandchild. Here Roland portrays the city at sunset, looking west out over the neighborhood known as “Islamic Cairo” from the high vantage point of the Citadel, a 12th century medieval fortification. The painting reminds me of listening to the evening calls to prayer echoing from over a thousand minarets throughout the city, beckoning me to a sense of reverent awe.


One day while living in Cairo, when I was walking by the edge of the Nile, I recall being overwhelmed with gratitude at the inestimable gift I had been given by the Divine Artist of living there. I found myself instinctively stopping, lifting my hands in the air while looking at the sundrenched sky, and saying at the top of my voice, those two words that say it all - “thank you."




PS. The two oldest grandkids loved feeling the roughed surface texture of the oil painting. They also loved trying to find the Nile River embedded in the painting, as it is not immediately obvious.


PPS. Even though I did my best to position my newest granddaughter so she could see the painting, truth be told, her sight at two weeks wasn’t yet able to see its full beauty. Thankfully, as the painting is in her house, she will have many years to do so!


NOTE: This year I will begin to lead tours that explore the wonder of Egypt through the lens of its artistic culture and spirituality. All are invited to travel with me as I share the people, culture and place I know and love. To learn more about CARAVAN Tours, see: www.oncaravan.org/tours 


Artworks:

-Roland Prime, Sunrise over Cairo, 2011, Oil on canvas, 54.5 x 31.5 inches

-Roland Prime, Cairo Sunset from the Citadel, 2020, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 24 inches


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Roland Prime graduated from Canterbury Christ Church College, Kent, England with a B.A. degree in Fine Art painting and drawing. Through the exploration of art his work became gradually more three dimensional. Sculpture became an important part of his art, often made from discarded pieces of metal - a recycled art form. His paintings, which concentrate on the contextual aesthetic of landscape, have gained public and private commissions.


Whilst in Cairo, as a founding curator of CARAVAN’s first exhibitions, Roland brought together a variety of artists from the Middle East and West. Following his time in Cairo, he moved to Malaysia, where his work reflected the nature of the countryside surrounding him, with a focus on areas where the modern clashes with the old. He now lives and creates in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England. 






Paul G. Chandler is an author, art curator, speaker, interfaith peacemaker, intercultural bridgebuilder and an authority on the Middle East and Africa, and the Abrahamic spiritual traditions. He grew up in Senegal, West Africa, and has lived and worked extensively around the world in senior leadership roles within publishing, the arts, relief and development and the Anglican Communion. As the Founding President of CARAVAN, he is recognized as a global leader in using the arts to build bridges, toward fostering peace, harmony and wholeness in our world. He is also a sought-after guide on the all-embracing spirituality of the early 20th century poet-artist Kahlil Gibran, the author of The Prophet.

Paul speaking in London
© 2025 Paul G. Chandler
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