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It is a chilly morning and still dark, in a while the sun will rise from the sea. Every day we photograph the trench early in the morning, because at that time the light is best. Sleepy and shivering we wait in silence for the right moment, immediately after the sun has risen. The Ababda are wrapped in blankets. Ahmed, Mansur, Ali, Mustafa and Jid set up the old ladder from the top of which I’m going to photograph the site. The footsteps in the sand are hastily covered up, they must not be visible on the picture. The workers set up a screen of heavy white canvas to protect the excavation site from too much sunlight. Steve, the American boss of the mission in Berenike, supervises the procedure energetically. His Arabic is excellent and he himself photographs everything too, he is a perfectionist and knows what he wants. The clouds are turning purple, and it is getting light. The sun is rising fast from the water that stretches to the horizon. We have only a few minutes and must hurry. First Steve climbs up the ladder, his various pieces of photographic equipment hanging round his neck, then it is my turn. Slowly and cautiously I climb up the unsteady rung. Everyday I have the same fear that the ladder will collapse under my feet and I will fall down. The Ababda holding the ladder make encouraging gestures, from up here I see the people with the canvas screen. A moment of concentration. For a few minutes I am the director of this performance and feel very important, then I climb down - not without some relief. For today it’s over, tomorrow we’ll come back to the same place.

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