The Egyptian Flag fluttering on top of the Egyptian museum in Cairo

A photo of the Egyptian flag fluttering on top of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. This is the same museum where there was some looting during the times when there was a campaign to get Mubarak's resignation as President. However, if you leave that aside, this is a place that holds some huge treasures in terms of antiquities.

View though the middle of the stands building at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, and a view of the Pakistani side

This is a straight view of the path through the stands (meant to house the crowds) at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan. This is a view of the Indian side, and you can see people emerging from the flag lowering ceremony between the security forces of the 2 countries. The view between the stands also leads directly towards the gate at the border, and to Pakistan.

The sign just past the border at Wagah welcoming people to the Indian side of the border

Just a small distance from the India Pakistan border at Wagah, on the Indian side, there is this sign welcoming people to India. It is more contextual for people from Pakistan, but is visible to all the people who have to watch the Beating the Retreat ceremony at the Wagah border.

View of the stadium like structures meant to house the people come to watch the ceremonial border flag lowering at Wagah

At the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, since the Beating the Retreat ceremony is so popular with tourists, the Governments on both sides have build large stands where people can sit and watch the ceremony from an elevated position. This is a view of the structures, and the road passing between them.

People all over the area after the end of the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan at sunset

After the conclusion of the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan, you could see people leaving the area and heading towards home. One would think that they would all move towards the exit, but the crowd behavior is such that they seem to be moving in all directions.

The crowd dispersing after the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan

After the end of the flag lowering ceremony (Beating the Retreat) at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, the crowd on the Indian side dispersing. There is a huge crowd, especially on weekends, and when the ceremony ends, the dispersing crowd shows how large the crowd actually is.

A BSF jawan lowering the Indian flag at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan

As part of the Beating the Retreat ceremony at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan, a BSF soldier lowers the Indian flag. This is not at the border fence, but actually a few meters away, at one end of the crowd stadiums on the Indian side.

The Indian and Pakistani flags more than half way down their flag-staffs at the Wagah Border

As part of the flag lowering ceremony (Beating the Retreat) at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan near Amritsar, you can see this photo where the flags are more than half way down the flag poles, and the ceremony is almost complete.

Flags halfway down the flagstaff at the Beating the Retreat ceremony at Wagah Border near Amritsar

At the Beating the Retreat flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, the ceremony has reached the stage where the flags are halfway down.

Crowd carrying Indian flags at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, on the Indian side

The crowd at the Indian side of the Wagah border (sitting and standing at the stadiums meant to cater to the crowd) carrying Indian flags. There aren't that many, but you could still see a number of people carrying the Indian flag. At the same time, you could not see too many people on the Pakistani side.

The Pakistani and Indian flags starting to be pulled down at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan

As part of the flag lowering ceremony between India and Pakistan at the Wagah border, the flags are first fully hoisted, and then lowered. Here, you can see the flags being lowered (the starting of the process of bringing the flag down).

Both the Pakistani and Indian flags fluttering in the wind at the Wagah Border near Amritsar

In this photo, you can see both the Indian and the Pakistani flags flaying at full mast at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan, as a part of the ceremonial flag lowering ceremony every evening at the border. There is a huge crowd which gathers to watch the flag lowering ceremony at every day.

The Pakistani and Indian flag hoisted over the flagstaffs at the Wagah Border

As part of the flag lowering ceremony in the evening at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, the flags of both nations are drawn fully positioned on top of flagstaffs at both sides of the border, before they are finally lowered.

When the border fences between India and Pakistan open during the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah Border

As part of the flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan (a very high impact, but short ceremony), the border fence is opened for some time, and then closed. In this fence, you can see how the fence is open now.

Man entertaining the crowd at the Wagah border flag lowering ceremony

The flag lowering ceremony at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan near Amritsar is a pretty formal ceremony, with the border security forces of both countries having a prominent role in this ceremony. However, to cater to the huge crowd, there was this emcee who was coordinating the entire ceremony, and getting the crowd involved.

Slightly blurred image of Border Security Force personnel marching towards the Wagah border

This is a slightly blurred image of Border Security Force personnel emerging from the BSF post, and marching in step towards the Wagah Border. It was hard to take this photo, because the light was failing, but overall, I think that the personnel are not blurred so much, while the foreground and background were all blurred.

Man directing the personnel of the Border Security Force to speak into a microphone at the Wagah Border

As a part of the ceremony, there was a person who was apparently directing the entire function. He was holding a microphone, and asking the personnel of the Border Security Force to shout out their passion into the mike, and also getting the girls and boys on the ground to sing along with him in a passionate patriotic song.

Clear view of the border fence between India and Pakistan at the Wagah Border

In this photo, inspite of the distance between me and the actual border, you can get a view of the 2 fences at the border between India and Pakistan. You also get to see much of the crowd, but that cannot be avoided.

Cross section of crowd on the Indian side of the Wagah Border near Amritsar

A cross section of the crowd right next to me at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. In this photo, the crowd was pretty excited, and all of them were standing up to get a better view.

People not sitting, causing a blocking of the view at the Wagah Border between India and Pakistan

One of the problems with a crowd spectacle is when people do not observe the rules. In this case, at the Wagah border flag lowering ceremony between India and Pakistan, people were standing up in the stadium, which caused problems for the others over there, since they started blocking the view.