GREETINGS FROM
Photographs by VINCIANE JACQUET
THE DAY I arrived in Egypt in April, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi had just given two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who was visiting Cairo to announce billions of dollars in aid and investment. The islands are in the Gulf of Aqaba, where both Israel and Jordan maintain ports, so the transfer of the land was strategically important. It was also a baffling and highly contentious gift that angered many Egyptians.