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October 1973: Panorama and MyopiaA 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 withIsrael is celebrated by museums of similar design andpurpose. At the center o f both attractions is a panorama(or cyclorama): a 360-degree depiction o f the keybattles o f the war. The concept is to immerse the visito rin a "surround" view of a battle—in Egypt's case, thecrossing o f the Suez Canal, in Syria's, the battle fo r theGolan Heights—with visual and sound effects, stirringnarration, and martial music. Both sites have adjacentgrounds for the display o f captured and destroyed Israelihardware, alongside examples o f the Soviet-madeEgyptian and Syrian armament o f the day. Theconstruction o f panoramas has become a North Koreanspecialty, and the Egyptian and Syrian panoramas are o fNorth Korean design and execution.

School groups, so ldiers, and local and foreign touristswho visit these sites are to ld similar stories o ftriumphant victory, leaving no room for ambiguity as tothe war's outcome. A recent visito r described herexperience at the Cairo attraction: "A vast panorama oflights and no ise depicted the epic struggle to cross thecanal. I saw no mention o f the Israeli counterattack. Ithas been subsumed by myth and propaganda." Anotherrecent visito r to the Damascus panorama made this

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observation: "If you relied only on a visit to thePanorama for information about the war, you would notknow a) that Egypt was also invo lved in the fighting, b)how long the war lasted, c) how many people died, or d)that Israel won."

It is o ften said that the myth o f the October "victory"made accommodation with Israel thinkable, by erasingthe stigma of the 1967 defeat from Egyptian and Syrianconsciousness. But a much more persuasive case canbe made that Israel's turning the tide o f the 1973 warfinally compelled Arab acceptance o f Israel. Israeli fo rcesoverwhelmed Arab armies on two fronts, even from themost disadvantaged opening position. The lesson wasnot lost on the leaderships o f Egypt and Syria, and itunderpins their avo idance o f war with Israel in thedecades since.

In teaching the young only part o f the story o f 1973,these panoramas show much less than 360 degrees o fthe truth—and in some small way, erode the foundationsof such peace as the Middle East enjoys. (They are alsomonuments to blind leader-worship, now challenged bythe revo lution in Egypt and the uprising in Syria.)

This photo gallery assembles nine photographs o f eachpanorama, to which I append a few explanatorycomments and links. View, share, and comment (you'llneed a Flickr account fo r that).

(Please note: Flickr galleries only allow display o fphotographs posted on Flickr by others . I didn't take anyof these photos. Many thanks to those who took andposted them. To view the context o f any photo , just clickon it. I may change the photographs in this gallery, aswell as the text o f my commentary. If you have uploadeda potentially relevant photograph to Flickr, please let meknow.)

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Short link to this gallery: bit.ly/1973panoramas

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—October 24, 2011

Mart in Kramer says: The 1973 October War Panoramain Cairo is located in Nasr City, on the airport road. NorthKorean leader Kim Il-Sung proposed it to Egypt'sPresident Husni Mubarak during Mubarak's first visit toPyongyang in 1983. It was inaugurated on October 5,1989. The Rough Guide describes the exterio r: "Thebuilding looks like a pavilion in some Communist themepark o f the 1950s and is decorated with Maoist-stylereliefs, but instead o f East Asian peasants and workersstriding purposefully fo rward, it's Egyptian so ldiers infront o f the Pyramids." A sign in English at the entrancereads: "Welcome to 1973 October War Panorama, enjoyspending a good time by watching 1973 October WarPanorama accompanied by the sound effects and musicprogram." Get a full tour o f the attraction in this videoclip. Go here for an (unsparing) Egyptian review of theexperience.

Octobe r War Panoramaby sixes & sevens

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Mart in Kramer says: On the grounds o f the Panorama,Egyptian so ldiers are depicted in a rubber dinghy,crossing the Suez Canal.

1973 Octobe r War Panoramaby vanLyden

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Mart in Kramer says: A frieze depicts the Egyptiancrossing o f the Suez Canal. Egyptian forces are seenblasting the embankment with water hoses (left), scalingthe embankment (center), and sending tanks across apontoon bridge into the breach (right). (Signed:Panorama Creators D[emocratic] P[eople's] R[epublic]Korea 1989.)

de signe d by the DPR Kore aby Paul Keller

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Mart in Kramer says: The war's outcome is not the onlytruth elided at the October War Panorama This mosaicdepicts the war room. There is President Anwar Sadat,commander o f the Egyptian forces (right) and air fo rcechief Husni Mubarak (left). In the actual photo o f thescene, the man standing to Sadat's right was the chief o fstaff, Saad Eddin el-Shazly. But Shazly had a bitterfalling-out with Sadat over the war's conduct. So in hisstead, the mosaic depicts Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy, chiefo f operations. Mubarak doesn't appear in the originalphoto , and some say he wasn't even in the room, aclaim that has become widespread since his fall frompower. (He is absent from this famous group photo inthe war room on October 10, but I think he can bespotted in this clip.)

Octobe r War Panorama - mosaicby minifastcar33

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Mart in Kramer says: The main attraction o f theOctober War Panorama is a 360-degree, 136-metercyclorama of the crossing o f the Suez Canal by Egyptianforces and the capture o f Israeli positions on its eastbank. Viewers are seated on a central platfo rm, whichrevo lves over the course o f thirty minutes. They view aseamless sequence o f diorama-type constructions thatblend into painted backdrop scenes. In this portion:Egyptian forces have overrun the Israeli defensive lineand are advancing into Sinai. Scrawled on the pillbox:"Allahu Akbar."

Kids at warby Carine&Tom

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Mart in Kramer says: A detail shows Egyptians flushwith their reconquest o f Qantara East, drinking fromcanteens, smoking cigarettes, and perusing (captured?)maps, while their abject Israeli prisoners look on. (In aprisoner exchange at the end o f the war, Israeli traded8,372 Egyptian POWs for the return o f 242 IsraeliPOWs.) For the larger Qantara tableau, which is quitedramatic, go here.

Octobe r War Panoramaby minifastcar33

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Mart in Kramer says: A battle map in mosaic, showingEgyptian forces thrusting across the Suez Canal and intoSinai. There is no mosaic depicting the Israelicounterattack across the Suez Canal.

DSC054 20by Martin Misr

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Mart in Kramer says: Something for everyone on thegrounds o f the Panorama, where the spo ils o f war areon display.

Octobe r War Panoramaby minifastcar33

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Mart in Kramer says: This painting is not from theOctober War Panorama. It hangs in the National MilitaryMuseum, located in the Citadel o f Cairo . After the NorthKoreans finished the Panorama, they took onrenovation o f the o ld military museum. The work wascompleted between 1990 and 1993. Under this moregeneral rubric, it was possible to put Mubarak at the verycenter o f the tableau. (In the wake o f Egypt's revo lution,this painting could be headed for the storeroom.) Theinscription beneath, in Arabic and English, puts October1973 on the same plane as some of history's mostfamed battles: "Egypt o f honor, Egypt o f authenticity andhistory, Egypt o f Qadesh and Hittin and October 1973."Compare this to the mural, in identical style, featuringHafez Asad (below).

Military Muse um, Cairoby semerick30

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Mart in Kramer says: The Tishreen (October) WarRemembrance Panorama lies about two kilometersnortheast o f Damascus. Again, it is North Korean work,commissioned after its Egyptian precedents and openedto the public on October 6 , 1999 (less than a yearbefore the death o f Hafez Asad). Its exterio r takes theform of a medieval fo rtress resembling a chess rook,flanked by two auxiliary buildings. Before the complexstands a statue o f Hafez Asad in military uniform, givingthe order to attack. The inscription says "Architect o fOctober, Martrydom or Victory." Tour the attraction in thisclip. Here is a somewhat more jaundiced view of theexperience.

Tishre e n War Pamoramaby richardavis

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Mart in Kramer says: Hafez Asad, center, commandshis fo rces. The figure furthest to the right, ho ldingbinoculars in hand, is the long-time defense minister,Mustafa Tlass. The scene is an extravagant gloss on awell-known photograph o f Asad and Tlass visiting thefront line.

Port rait o f Hafe z …by iancowe

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Mart in Kramer says: The Syrian Panorama is basedon the identical principle as the Egyptian one: a centralplatform revo lves 360 degrees, providing a full view o fthe action in the 129-meter circular diorama. The Syrianversion depicts the fighting in and around Quneitra andMount Hermon. In this particularly vivid segment, Syrians(on the right) assault the Israelis (on the left) in closecombat on Mount Hermon. (View this in full size for fulleffect.)

Kore an Golanby freddyd

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Mart in Kramer says: The battle rages for the city o fQuneitra. Artists: Kim Sing Chol, O Kwang Ho, Ri Jae Su,Ri Kap Il, Kim Chol Jin, Choe Song Sik, Ri Jong Gap,Kim Ki Dok, Cha Yo Sang, and Ri Yon Nam. Here itmight be noted, in passing, that Saddam Husseinpreceded Mubarak and Asad in commissioning apanorama from North Korea. He had one built in Al-Mada'in, near Ctesiphon, to depict the battle o fQadisiyah (636), in which Arab Muslims defeated theSassanid Persians. During the 2003 Iraq war and itsaftermath, the Qadisiyah panorama was pillaged and itnow lies in ruin. In 2010, the Karbala provincialgovernment announced it would build an "AshuraPanorama," depicting the battle o f Karbala (680).

Tishre e n Panorama 6by fhartha

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Mart in Kramer says: For good measure, there areportrayals o f o ther Arab/Muslim victories throughouthistory, including this one o f Saladin entering Jerusalem(1187). The Crusaders are abject in their submission, inthis unusual combination o f North Korean socialistrealism and good o ld Orientalism.

Kore an paint ing of Salah ad-Dinby freddyd

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Mart in Kramer says: This gallery is devoted to HafezAsad. To the right and left are various mementos andphotographs o f Asad with world leaders. At the far end isa hero ic portrait o f Asad acclaimed by his people, in theNorth Korean mural style.

Port rait o f Hafe z …by iancowe

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Mart in Kramer says: A closer view shows Hafez Asadhailed by top figures in the military and Baath party, andall sectors o f Syrian society. Balloons fly and even thedoves regard Asad expectantly. (In the Egyptian version,above, Mubarak is surrounded by many more generals,but the same doves.)

Port rait o f Hafe z …by iancowe

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Mart in Kramer says: On the grounds adjacent to thePanorama, there is a display o f the usual array o fhardware, such as the Soviet-made MIG fighter jet onthe left, and captured Israeli armor and fragments o fdowned Israeli aircraft. But the Syrian iteration has aspecial feature: the Soviet Soyuz capsule that carried theone and only Syrian cosmonaut, Muhammad Faris. backto earth from a Soviet space station in 1987. Faris wasmade a Hero o f the Soviet Union on his return. (Anotherview here.)

MIG and Soyuzby Philip Griffin

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Mart in Kramer says: What are friends for? Hafez Asadand Kim Il-Sung hang together at the Panorama. Theymet in real life in September 1974, when Asad paid astate visit to North Korea. Both leaders have since beensucceeded by their sons, who went on to co llaborate onbigger pro jects . And if you, too, are one o f a dwindlingnumber o f dictators, you might consider contractingMandusae o f Pyongyang to build a monument to you.Here is a sort o f prospectus: "Need a massivemonument built fo r cheap and on short notice? In thisage o f post-Soviet malaise, no one has maintained thetime-honored art o f building massively unnecessarybronze and concrete monuments. No one, that is,except the fine revo lutionaries o f the Mansudae ArtStudios, one o f the largest contributors to the DPRK’seconomy. Not content with keeping all o f the giantmonuments and statues to themselves, the 4000 artistso f the studio work in glorious revo lutionary harmony toprovide the world with great monuments to great men.Mansudae’s work can be found in Syria at the OctoberWar Remembrance Panorama, in Senegal at the AfricanRenaissance Monument, and at state houses all overAfrica." Order yours now—before it's too late.

Assad & Kimby fhartha

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