On the Ground in Cairo at the Muslim Brotherhood Headquarters

July 2, 2013, 10:14pm

Since Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi took office, the Egyptian economy has erupted, with the Egyptian pound valued at the lowest it’s ever been in history. Unemployment and incidents of sexual assault are on the rise. On his one-year anniversary, June 30, the Egyptian people took to the streets, waving Egyptian flags, and chanting, “Erhal!”—“Leave!”

Justin Wilkes is on the ground in Egypt, and we asked him to send us a few photos of the protests. He came back with a crazy story of getting shot at:

“Not sure where to start or how to describe what happened yesterday. Basically, the idea was to go to the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Moqattam and get some happy snaps of the aftermath of all the June 30 burning sessions. As we got out of the car, we started seeing people running around and then seconds later started hearing gunshots, and they were coming our direction. We hid behind cars in the streets, watching for a bit before making a run for it around a brick wall, where it seemed the bullets had followed us. It was the first time in my life that I heard the sickly sound of the whiz the bullet makes as it shreds the air just feet from our heads.

“We stopped for lunch. Sitting in a café, we saw two unmarked armored vehicles wrapping around the corner and headed to the Muslim Brotherhood HQ. We followed them, but then people started screaming, “They’re gone! They’ve left!” I can only assume that these vehicles picked up Muslim Brotherhood members and took them to safety.

“I was not expecting this.”

Protests started on June 26, days before the expected, large-scale protests on June 30, President Mohammed Morsi’s one-year anniversary in office.

Tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters gather outside Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City on June 28 to show their support for President Morsi.

A young Egyptian woman protests with others in Tahrir Square on June 28. Crowds chanted, “Erhal! Erhal! Erhal!”—"Leave! Leave! Leave!"

Muslin Brotherhood supporters stop for midday prayers outside Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Nasr City on June 28.

On June 30, Muslim Brotherhood supporters dressed in martial-arts gear, helmets, and various improvised weapons to defend the MB headquarters in case of an attack.

June 30: Outside the presidential palace, hundreds of thousands of protesters demand the ouster of President Morsi.

The Egyptian military protect the presidential palace from potential attacks on June 30. As of July 2, the military issued President Morsi a 48-hour ultimatum to solve the crisis or they will step in.

Opposition supporters break out in early celebration, singing and dancing outside the presidential palace on June 30, hoping for Morsi’s departure.

View of the presidential palace from Al Nadi street on June 30.

Protesters outside the presidential palace on June 30.

A young Egyptian protester takes off his shoe, placing it into a Morsi poster, a serious sign of disrespect in Egypt.

In the early morning hours of July 1, a small group of violent protesters tried to ransack and set fire to the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Moqattam. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were inside the building responded by firing ammunition.

July 1: On the second day of protests outside the presidential palace, the mood was festive, as the people seemed to be happy that the military has given President Morsi an ultimatum.