Over the years, Shepheard’s hosted distinguished guests such as Aga Khan, Winston Churchill, Theodore Roosevelt, T. E. Lawrence, and others. Research shows that, probably on the same day (as she is wearing the same dress and is in the same photo studio), Marie was captured in a photo with two children – a boy and a girl, unknown to us. This photograph is displayed on a wall of the Folklore Museum of Sykamia, Stratis’ birthplace.  Later, around 1908/9, the couple, Marie and Stratis, along with his brother, Achilleas K. Kalligeris, his sister-in-law, Andromachi G. Gogou, and their son, Georgios A. Kalligeris, captured the moment of their family gathering in Cairo at an unknown photography studio. The dresses and hairstyles of both the ladies and gentlemen follow European trends and the fashion of the Belle Époque.

According to Stratis’s 1919 will, their home was on Kasr al Nil Street, in Cairo’s central Ismailia district. This street intersects El Gomhoreya, which may have influenced their choice of this particular photography studio.  Aunt Marie left us small porcelain bonbonnières, which she used to buy from the pastry shops Patisserie – Confiserie A La Kefak and A. & A. Criticou Le Caire —the latter bearing a recognizable Greek surname. As for Barba-Stratis, he expanded his estate all the way to Gezira Island in Cairo, a cosmopolitan suburb and a hub of leisure, sports, and social life in the Egyptian capital.

In Cairo, the heart of Egypt, the Ismailia district—home to many Europeans and affluent locals—boasted European architecture, grand boulevards, and public buildings reminiscent of Paris. At the center of high society and a meeting place for travelers, diplomats, and explorers were the Ezbekiyeh Gardens and the Shepheard’s Hotel. In contrast to the European quarters, Cairo’s bazaars were vibrant and bustling, with merchants selling spices, jewelry, and handcrafted goods in a maze of alleyways. The Nile River shaped the rhythm of life, from riverside mansions to the feluccas gliding across its waters.

Life in Alexandria and Cairo at the turn of the 19th and early 20th centuries was a masterful blend of oriental tradition and European cosmopolitan influence. In these cities, the stories of individuals such as Eustratios K. Kalligeris and Marie Mathis reflect the dynamic spirit of the times – a spirit of exploration, commercial activity and cultural osmosis. Yet for Stratis, his roots remained firmly rooted in Lesvos, the island of his birth. The ties between Egypt and Lesvos were deep, reinforced through trade, migration and family relations, with many Lesbian families seeking opportunities in the vibrant cities of the Nile, while maintaining a strong bond with their homeland. From that point of view, the lives of Stratis and Marie embody not only their personal ambition, but also the larger historical movement of Lesbian expatriates shaped and shaped by the cosmopolitan world of Egypt.

The photography studios of the time, such as Fettel & Bernard in Alexandria and Lékégian in Cairo, were more than just portrait studios; they were memory vaults, capturing an age where East and West, Europe and the Middle East, met and intertwined.