Home The Tour Sign Up Explore Upload Search Martin Kramer · Galleries October 1973: Panorama and Myopia Share A gallery curated by Martin Kramer | 18 photos | October 24, 2011 Sandbo x | Mart in Kramer o n t he Middle East In Cairo and Damascus, the October 1973 war with Israel is celebrated by museums of similar design and purpose. At the center of both attractions is a panorama (or cyclorama): a 360-degree depiction of the key battles of the war. The concept is to immerse the visitor in a "surround" view of a battle—in Egypt's case, the crossing of the Suez Canal, in Syria's, the battle for the Golan Heights—with visual and sound effects, stirring narration, and martial music. Both sites have adjacent grounds for the display of captured and destroyed Israeli hardware, alongside examples of the Soviet-made Egyptian and Syrian armament of the day. The construction of panoramas has become a North Korean specialty, and the Egyptian and Syrian panoramas are of North Korean design and execution. School groups, soldiers, and local and foreign tourists who visit these sites are told similar stories of triumphant victory, leaving no room for ambiguity as to the war's outcome. A recent visitor described her experience at the Cairo attraction: "A vast panorama of lights and noise depicted the epic struggle to cross the canal. I saw no mention of the Israeli counterattack. It has been subsumed by myth and propaganda." Another recent visitor to the Damascus panorama made this 1 observation: "If you relied only on a visit to the Panorama for information about the war, you would not know a) that Egypt was also involved in the fighting, b) how long the war lasted, c) how many people died, or d) that Israel won." It is often said that the myth of the October "victory" made accommodation with Israel thinkable, by erasing the stigma of the 1967 defeat from Egyptian and Syrian consciousness. But a much more persuasive case can be made that Israel's turning the tide of the 1973 war finally compelled Arab acceptance of Israel. Israeli forces overwhelmed Arab armies on two fronts, even from the most disadvantaged opening position. The lesson was not lost on the leaderships of Egypt and Syria, and it underpins their avoidance of war with Israel in the decades since. In teaching the young only part of the story of 1973, these panoramas show much less than 360 degrees of the truth—and in some small way, erode the foundations of such peace as the Middle East enjoys. (They are also monuments to blind leader-worship, now challenged by the revolution in Egypt and the uprising in Syria.) This photo gallery assembles nine photographs of each panorama, to which I append a few explanatory comments and links. View, share, and comment (you'll need a Flickr account for that). (Please note: Flickr galleries only allow display of photographs posted on Flickr by others. I didn't take any of these photos. Many thanks to those who took and posted them. To view the context of any photo, just click on it. I may change the photographs in this gallery, as well as the text of my commentary. If you have uploaded a potentially relevant photograph to Flickr, please let me know.) 2 Short link to this gallery: bit.ly/1973panoramas Follow Martin Kramer: Website | Facebook | Twitter —October 24, 2011 O ctobe r War Panorama by sixes & sevens Mart in Kramer says: The 1973 October War Panorama in Cairo is located in Nasr City, on the airport road. North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung proposed it to Egypt's President Husni Mubarak during Mubarak's first visit to Pyongyang in 1983. It was inaugurated on October 5, 1989. The Rough Guide describes the exterior: "The building looks like a pavilion in some Communist theme park of the 1950s and is decorated with Maoist-style reliefs, but instead of East Asian peasants and workers striding purposefully forward, it's Egyptian soldiers in front of the Pyramids." A sign in English at the entrance reads: "Welcome to 1973 October War Panorama, enjoy spending a good time by watching 1973 October War Panorama accompanied by the sound effects and music program." Get a full tour of the attraction in this video clip. Go here for an (unsparing) Egyptian review of the experience. 3 1973 O ctobe r War Panorama by vanLyden Mart in Kramer says: On the grounds of the Panorama, Egyptian soldiers are depicted in a rubber dinghy, crossing the Suez Canal. 4 de signe d by the DPR Kore a by Paul Keller Mart in Kramer says: A frieze depicts the Egyptian crossing of the Suez Canal. Egyptian forces are seen blasting the embankment with water hoses (left), scaling the embankment (center), and sending tanks across a pontoon bridge into the breach (right). (Signed: Panorama Creators D[emocratic] P[eople's] R[epublic] Korea 1989.) 5 O ctobe r War Panorama - mosaic by minifastcar33 Mart in Kramer says: The war's outcome is not the only truth elided at the October War Panorama This mosaic depicts the war room. There is President Anwar Sadat, commander of the Egyptian forces (right) and air force chief Husni Mubarak (left). In the actual photo of the scene, the man standing to Sadat's right was the chief of staff, Saad Eddin el-Shazly. But Shazly had a bitter falling-out with Sadat over the war's conduct. So in his stead, the mosaic depicts Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy, chief of operations. Mubarak doesn't appear in the original photo, and some say he wasn't even in the room, a claim that has become widespread since his fall from power. (He is absent from this famous group photo in the war room on October 10, but I think he can be spotted in this clip.) 6 Kids at war by Carine&Tom Mart in Kramer says: The main attraction of the October War Panorama is a 360-degree, 136-meter cyclorama of the crossing of the Suez Canal by Egyptian forces and the capture of Israeli positions on its east bank. Viewers are seated on a central platform, which revolves over the course of thirty minutes. They view a seamless sequence of diorama-type constructions that blend into painted backdrop scenes. In this portion: Egyptian forces have overrun the Israeli defensive line and are advancing into Sinai. Scrawled on the pillbox: "Allahu Akbar." 7 O ctobe r War Panorama by minifastcar33 Mart in Kramer says: A detail shows Egyptians flush with their reconquest of Qantara East, drinking from canteens, smoking cigarettes, and perusing (captured?) maps, while their abject Israeli prisoners look on. (In a prisoner exchange at the end of the war, Israeli traded 8,372 Egyptian POWs for the return of 242 Israeli POWs.) For the larger Qantara tableau, which is quite dramatic, go here. 8 DSC054 20 by Martin Misr Mart in Kramer says: A battle map in mosaic, showing Egyptian forces thrusting across the Suez Canal and into Sinai. There is no mosaic depicting the Israeli counterattack across the Suez Canal. 9 O ctobe r War Panorama by minifastcar33 Mart in Kramer says: Something for everyone on the grounds of the Panorama, where the spoils of war are on display. 10 Military Muse um, Cairo by semerick30 Mart in Kramer says: This painting is not from the October War Panorama. It hangs in the National Military Museum, located in the Citadel of Cairo. After the North Koreans finished the Panorama, they took on renovation of the old military museum. The work was completed between 1990 and 1993. Under this more general rubric, it was possible to put Mubarak at the very center of the tableau. (In the wake of Egypt's revolution, this painting could be headed for the storeroom.) The inscription beneath, in Arabic and English, puts October 1973 on the same plane as some of history's most famed battles: "Egypt of honor, Egypt of authenticity and history, Egypt of Qadesh and Hittin and October 1973." Compare this to the mural, in identical style, featuring Hafez Asad (below). 11 Tishre e n War Pamorama by richardavis Mart in Kramer says: The Tishreen (October) War Remembrance Panorama lies about two kilometers northeast of Damascus. Again, it is North Korean work, commissioned after its Egyptian precedents and opened to the public on October 6, 1999 (less than a year before the death of Hafez Asad). Its exterior takes the form of a medieval fortress resembling a chess rook, flanked by two auxiliary buildings. Before the complex stands a statue of Hafez Asad in military uniform, giving the order to attack. The inscription says "Architect of October, Martrydom or Victory." Tour the attraction in this clip. Here is a somewhat more jaundiced view of the experience. 12 Portrait of Hafe z … by iancowe Mart in Kramer says: Hafez Asad, center, commands his forces. The figure furthest to the right, holding binoculars in hand, is the long-time defense minister, Mustafa Tlass. The scene is an extravagant gloss on a well-known photograph of Asad and Tlass visiting the front line. 13 Kore an G olan by freddyd Mart in Kramer says: The Syrian Panorama is based on the identical principle as the Egyptian one: a central platform revolves 360 degrees, providing a full view of the action in the 129-meter circular diorama. The Syrian version depicts the fighting in and around Quneitra and Mount Hermon. In this particularly vivid segment, Syrians (on the right) assault the Israelis (on the left) in close combat on Mount Hermon.