--- description: A massive sandstorm hit the Middle East this week, with a dust belt stretching all the way to Turkey. See Egypt through the sand title: See the Sandstorm That Blanketed Egypt image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6ad61a2ed7b3ead/69877eb7f887dc8ef9e8a0c8/sandstorm-cairo-egypt-5.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Egypt](/tag/egypt/) ## Egypt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the Sandstorm That Blanketed Egypt by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2015 5:38 PM CUT  The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015.David Degner—Getty Images Reportage by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 11, 2015 5:38 PM CUT The sandstorm has disrupted traffic at airfields and seaports across the country. \[[AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/90440ca142734f3a8ee7f0522cdc3d8f/sandstorm-egypt-shuts-down-cairo-airport-arrivals "undefined")\]  A mosque is seen through the haze of a sandstorm in Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. Hassan Ammar—AP  Cairo is seen during a sandstorm, Feb. 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih—Reuters  Young students run to their homes during a sandstorm in 6 October city, a suburb southwest of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. Mosa'ab Elshamy—AP  A man and a woman ride on a motorcycle over a bridge during a sand storm in Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. Asmaa Waguih—Reuters  The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. David Degner—Getty Images Reportage  The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. David Degner—Getty Images Reportage  The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015. David Degner—Getty Images Reportage ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3705313/sandstorm-cairo-egypt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3705313/sandstorm-cairo-egypt/"},"headline":"See the Sandstorm That Blanketed Egypt","datePublished":"2015-02-11T17:38:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:42.296Z","description":"A massive sandstorm hit the Middle East this week, with a dust belt stretching all the way to Turkey. See Egypt through the sand","url":"https://time.com/3705313/sandstorm-cairo-egypt/","keywords":["Egypt","photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6ad61a2ed7b3ead/69877eb7f887dc8ef9e8a0c8/sandstorm-cairo-egypt-5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte6ad61a2ed7b3ead/69877eb7f887dc8ef9e8a0c8/sandstorm-cairo-egypt-5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Egypt, Sand Storm","caption":"The Saqqara pyramid complex, south of Cairo, Feb. 11, 2015.","creditText":"David Degner—Getty Images Reportage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/egypt/","name":"Egypt"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3705313/sandstorm-cairo-egypt/","name":"See the Sandstorm That Blanketed Egypt"}}]}] ```