Gezicht vanaf het fort op Pharos met op de voorgrond kanonnen before 1885

This anonymous photograph shows the view from the fort on Pharos, including cannons in the foreground. We can only speculate when it was created. Looking at the photograph, we can see it's likely that the purpose of its creation was for documentary or military use. The inclusion of the canons suggests a focus on the military strength and strategic importance of the fort, reflecting a colonial or imperial gaze, and the fort's role in maintaining power structures and colonial interests in Egypt. The social conditions that shape artistic production here are clearly linked to colonial power. To understand this photograph more fully, we'd need to delve into the colonial history of Egypt, examining military records, maps, and other visual and textual sources. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.