Oregon Public Broadcasting

Egypt's 'Arab Spring' uprising began one-year-ago Wednesday.

Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB

Protesters gather at Occupy the Ports.

Following the overthrow of Tunisia's dictator, Egyptians took to the streets in the hundreds of thousands. They occupied Tahrir Square in a protest that finally brought down the regime.

Then the unrest spread -- to Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and beyond. And some say the occupation of Tahrir Square inspired the Occupy Wall Street encampments and protests in this country.

Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman lives in Portland.  He traveled to Cairo from here a year ago.  Now he’s thought about whether Arab Spring became Occupy.

Read Mitchell's Reporter's Notebook and see a timeline of Arab Spring and Occupy events at Marketplace.org