Egypt is living through times of change - a turning point in the country's history. President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011 after weeks of mass public demonstrations, focused on Tahrir Square in Cairo. Egypt's first free parliamentary and presidential elections were held amidst growing concern both about the power and intentions of the interim governing body, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and about increasing support for politicized Islamist organizations.

Entering people's homes and taking pictures at this point in Egypt's history presented a challenge. Welcoming a stranger into your house, letting her spend the night and take photographs, required a great deal of trust on the part of the families concerned. The fact that state television broadcast warnings to people not to trust any foreigners because they might be spies, did not make matters easier.