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12th Mar 2014

PHOTOS: Estonian Photographer Finds End Of The World Cinema In Egypt

This is haunting but beautiful.

Alanna Alexander

Photographer Kaupo Kikkas was staying in Egypt when he decided to go on a trek in the middle of the desert.

While he probably expected to see something beautiful, we doubt that he expected to find what he did. 

He explains what he found on his blog:

On a sunny day at the very beginning of this millenniums a crazy frenchman found himself in the desert of Sinai. After some puffs of a magic smoke he wondered – how come that there are no cinemas in the middle of the desert? 

He flew back to Paris and arranged some money. After that he went to Cairo to buy original old seats and projection equipment from an old cinema theatre. Then came back to Sinai, arranged generator for electricity a monsterous tractor to pull up the screen that was like a gigantic sail. And now everything was more or less ready for the premier. 

Only detail he forgot was that this nice desert happens to be in Egypt. Country where local authorities are not too happy about such enthusiasm and spirit, specially if it comes from a crazy frenchmen…

At the premier evening everything went “accidentally” wrong, their electricity generator was sabotaged and no movies were ever screened at the End of the World Cinema.

So there it lies and waits – a monument from another reality and time. 

Click through the gallery above to see Kaupo’s photographs.