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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - A young Egyptian has become an online favorite for a series of images he has created in which he moved iconic international landmarks, and placed them in his country alongside Egypt’s own monuments using the power of computer technology.

Graphic designer Amr Eid has taken a series of images of scenes from Egypt and used Photoshop to change their current settings and superimpose images of famous international landmarks.

The project, called “Matha law” or “What if,” explores the question of what Egypt would have looked like if history had been different and the Romans had built the Colosseum in Alexandria, or the French had constructed the Eiffel Tower in Cairo.

Despite having never traveled internationally, he said he decided to take it upon himself to defy history and geography and put his skills to work redesigning the world, according to his very vivid imagination.

“Everything I created was based on my imagination and images I had seen on the Internet,” Amr Eid told Al Arabiya News.

He said he allowed himself to ignore the geographical boundaries of countries, to the project.

“I had no geographic constraints while designing … Everything was possible,” he explained.

Baron palace
Eid, who recently graduated from Cairo University, said he felt compelled to start the project after seeing one of Egypt’s greatest monuments, which he said had fallen into disrepair.

He said the sight prompted him to think about why Egypt and its ancient history had not been better maintained.

“It all started when I saw the Baron Palace - a historic mansion located in Cairo’s Heliopolis neighborhood, and known for its distinctive, Indian-inspired architecture - in a damaged condition,” the freelance graphic designer said.

“The sight of it in such a state made me wonder how Egypt’s landmarks could look, and how eye-catching they could be, if only more care was paid to their maintenance,” he said.

Facebook feedback
He was immediately encouraged to pursue his project when his first image, that placed Baron Palace in setting surrounded by a picturesque lake, instead of the sprawling built up streets it is actually set in, was shared on social media.

He said: “I got a lot of unexpected positive feedback … The project was shared more than 4,000 times on Facebook alone,” he said, “it was the trigger that made me continue the project and pushed me to take it further.”

Commenting on the Baron Palace picture, one Facebook user wrote: “If I can hit ‘Like’ multiple times, I would have done. Great job,” while other users described Eid as “talented.”

Following the positive remarks, the 24-year-old designer continued with his creating more images that included placing the Sydney Opera House in Aswan, the Statue of Liberty in Alexandria, and Paris’ iconic Louvre glass pyramid at the Giza Plateau.

In just a few days, his work was receiving praise both locally and internationally - including mentions by several reputable local and international media outlets including Italy’s The Post Internazionale.

Time magazine
The designer has high ambitions for his work. He dreams of one day seeing his work covered internationally in a publication such as Time magazine.

But he also believes his creations could be put to good work in Egypt to help improve the country’s tourism image abroad.

Speaking about his upcoming projects, Eid said: “I am planning to develop a new project that would be aimed at helping the country’s tourism.”

“The project would focus more on Egypt and its historic sites. It wouldn’t only be about graphic design … but this still needs a lot of work and thinking.”

*Al Arabiya