2 albumen photographic prints of a view of the Nile with pyramids in the background and the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo by the Zangaki brothers ("Adelphoi Zangaki"), who were two photographers of Greek origin active in Egypt from ca. 1870 until the beginning of the 20th century. They can be grouped together with other commercial photographers who worked in Egypt during the second half of the 19th century. These photographers, such as Félix Bonfils, Gustave le Gray and others who were mostly of French origin, were able to capitalise on the rising demand for photographic prints as souvenirs.
Photographers, like the Zangaki brothers, often sold the albumen prints from their studios located in cities like Port Said, Cairo and Suez, but produced the actual photographs using the collodion process in a portable darkroom - a cart or sometimes even a boat - in the field.
The brothers were quite prolific, producing at least 1500 photographs of Egypt and other regions of the Middle East during the span of a few decades around the turn of the 20th century. Since these photographs were taken with the purpose of creating prints for tourists, the subjects are often "quintessentially Egyptian" and sights such as the pyramids along the Nile river are captured. However, they also provide a glimpse into Egyptian daily life or occasionally one can sneak a peek at one the photographers and their portable darkroom. Not much is known about the Zangaki brothers and until quite recently people thought that the photographic prints signed "Zangaki" were produced by one single person.
With a tear in the lower margin, not affecting the photographs, some foxing, remnants of white tape to one of the side margins of the board, with a small blue ink mark below an inscription "Mosque of El Azhar." in the margin below the photograph of said mosque. Overall in good condition. cf. Erdem, Views of Egypt by Georgios and Constantinos Zangaki [...] (2009); Hannavy, in: Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, p. 1521; Perez, Focus east, p. 233.