Flight From Egypt

'We were trying to raise awareness of Islam in US'

T he film opens 10 years after 9/11. How did you think this would change the perception of Islam? Am I right to assume that was one of your intentions?

Sure, we would like to have some kind of an impact. We cannot change all the perceptions. I wanted to put a human face on Islam and to show, particularly to the American audience, that the religion is beyond the headlines and stereotypes. There are 1.3 billion people following Islam. These people go through the same kind of internal debates and struggles that everyone does as to how religion should play in their lives. I wanted to show some of that through some of the contestants and their families. The competition for me was a narrative device to get into some of these deeper issues. I hope that people will learn a little bit about the Koran and that the film will demystify Islam a bit.

You traveled to so many countries. Were you looking for a particular candidate?

The thing about these competitions is that there are 110 candidates and you can cast a very wide net and see what happens. We knew who was coming, and we had a sense of who we liked, but in terms of who would be the main characters, we didn't know until the competition... It's the kind of a thing about documentaries -- things change during the course of making the film.

Tell us about the experience of traveling to these far off places .

We couldn't have picked more remote places. Even logistically, getting from Senegal to Maldives and from there to Dushanbe (the capital of Tajikistan) was tricky. But I loved the access to people's lives. The Maldives is a big tourist destination, but the island we went to is not where tourists go.

On the islands where tourists visit, you can drink alcohol, wear bikinis and the local people do not bring their families. But if you want to see how the people live, you have to get off the islands. Life there is totally different. Every citizen has to be a Muslim, it's the law. It's a very conservative society and that was a great window into the lives of the people.

On the map, a straight Maldives to Dushanbe flight would be seven hours long. We went from this tiny island to the capital Male to Doha, to Frankfurt. We spent the night there and got this once a week flight to Dushanbe. It took about 36 hours.

Over day in Cairo from Hurghada by Domestic Flight (Alexandria ...

You will be transferred from your hotel in Hurghada or El Gouna to Hurghada International Airport for flight to Cairo where you will be met & transferred to discover The Pyramids Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus. Then proceed to visit the Great Sphinx, the head of a pharaoh with a lion's body, which dates from the time of Chephren; the tour also includes a visit to the Valley Temple, which belongs to the Pyramids of Chephren. Proceed to have your lunch at local restaurant in Cairo. Then we will move on to relish a trip to the Egyptian Museum which features artifacts from the Pharaonic period. The museum displays a rare collection of 5000 years of art which is considered the largest most precious collection of Egyptian art in the world. Over 250,000 genuine artifacts are presented, including an exhibit dedicated to Tutankhamen collection of treasure, gold and jewelry which was enclosed in his tomb for over 3,500 years before it was discovered in the 1920 when his tomb was excavated. Move onto Coptic Cairo for a background about the Christian & Jewish heritage through the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue. Shopping at Khan El Khalili Bazaar, one of the most famous and oldest bazaars in the Middle East. Finally, transferred to Cairo Airport for flight to Hurghada and then transfer to your hotel. Egypt is a safe destination. Crime in Egypt nearly does not exist. Security is good and there are specially trained Tourist Police.The buses move in convoys for protection. The Egyptian government take so much care of the tourism as it is the national source of income in Egypt. the tourist in Egypt is VIP person So the Egyptian police (not the ship) provide police cars, security, guards around all the buses This service is not by the ship or Ramses tours its provided for all the tourists that arrive to Egypt, make organized tours. The only health hazard that you’re likely to come across is an upset stomach. The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you only drink bottled water, avoid ice and ice-cream and anything that may have been washed in tap water (salad). All fruit should be peeled before consumption. Milk is unpasteurized and should be boiled. Precautions should also be taken against prickly heat and sunstroke”.

Flight Into Egypt in Art, Flight Into Egypt, Rest on the Flight Into Egypt

The flight into Egypt, a narrative poem, with some minor poems

Mary's little donkey and the flight to Egypt

The Holy Child, or, The flight into Egypt

A family flight over Egypt and Syria