Sadat Assassination

I'm standing on the exact spot where President Anwar Sadat of Egypt was assassinated by Islamic extremists - members of his praetorian guard - on 6th October 1981, nearly thirty-five years ago.

He was struck thirty-seven times in a hail of bullets unleashed under cover of the airforce flypast which was the climax of the victory-over-Israel celebrations.   I had seen the same jets pass overhead just seconds before as I stared out of the windows of the Islamic Museum in Cairo.   The rest, as they say, is history . . . I know at least one book that sheds light on it all!

I was shocked to find this iconic tribune standing open and unguarded by the side of the busy road that had been closed off that fateful day for the 6th October military parade.    For some reason I had been thinking of Sadat as I unwittingly approached it in our car, taking a different-to-normal route to the airport.

'I know you like that man,' said Ayman, my driver.
'Who?' I asked, coming back from my reverie.
'Sadat.'
'How on earth did you know I was thinking about Sadat?'
'Don't you know he was killed right here.'
'That's the tribune? . . . Where the parade was?'
'Yes.'
'Right here? . . . Can we stop?'

We did and took a series of shots, so to speak. Ayman wanted one standing in the same spot saluting like the president of the day.   'Can I be your Prime Minister?' I asked.
'Sure, but first you need to photoshop in a uniform and some medals and get rid of my belly to make me look like a president!'
'No problem. When do I start?'

There's no plaque marking the spot and Sadat's widow had to look hard for work after his death.   Such are the ways of the men, including Sadat, who have taken part in this unending parade of presidents.

Here's a 2m 30s narrated visual account of the assassination:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rhu-YgCyPz4