If one were to pick a single phrase to describe President Anwar Sadat, photography enthusiast probably isn't the first that would come to mind. But it would not be wrong. Sadat had a passion for posing for photos. The president used photography to send political and other messages. A picture of him in his undershirt once appeared on magazine covers and provoked his wife's fury, but the president was happy to see them. Although Sadat sat for hundreds of pictures, which he sometimes distributed himself, a book recently published by the Library of Alexandria brings to light never before seen photos of the president. The book is published within the framework of a project to document Egypt. Among the 700 pictures included in the book are pictures of the First Lady in a farmer's costume and another featuring Sadat playing with his dog. The latter picture was taken by Sadat's photographer, Farouq Ibrahim. It was Sadat's request that the picture never finds its way to Egyptian publications, in order not to spoil the image of the Believer-President he created for himself. At the same time he told him to publish the pictures in American papers, where he thought people were likely to closely follow news on their presidents' pets. The collection includes pictures of the president with his son Gamal at a popular café in Borg el-Arab and a multitude of pictures of the president's son and daughters from his wife Jihan el-Sadat, as well as his grandchildren. There's also a host of pictures of Sadat in the Armed Forces Operation Room during the 6th October War and a photo of him with Hosni Mubarak. While the book, for which Jihan el-Sadat had provided most of the material, was well-received by Sadat's family, the president's daughters from his first wife, Eqbal Mady, were angry that the 700-picture book ignored them. "The book is a respectable effort and its printing is of high quality, but there are documentation mistakes that undercut this fine publication," said Kamilia el-Sadat, the president's youngest daughter from his first wife. "I was astonished that the book, which tackled the president's personal life, entirely ignored our existence and excluded us from this key documentary." The book also does not include nay pictures of the president's siblings. Kamilia el-Sadat said that although she was upset by being ignored in the books, she "would like to thank those who launched that book, hoping that those mistakes would be corrected in the future." Khaled Azab, who was mainly responsible for preparing the book, said that it took around three years to finish the book. Regarding the comments made by the daughters of Sadat, he said the fact that the book contained only a few pictures of them was not intentional. Selecting the pictures was governed by various criteria, such as the quality and resolution of the picture, he said. "We met with members of the president's family, one of whom was Roqqaya el-Sadat who provided us with some pictures, only some of which were eventually published as many were screened out for low-quality." "We respect and appreciate all the daughters of Sadat, and any mistake that was made was definitely unintentional. Besides, these pictures and many more are on the Sadat's website," he added. Azab announced that the second part of the Sadat documentation project was underway. The second book will cover Sadat's life from birth to death. Asked why a book on Sadat's life is taking so long, Azab explained that they were more concerned with the more important part of the president's life, which is his presidency. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
