Cairo Traffic: An observation

I have a question, every friday I go to my father on the Cairo-Fayoum Road, and have to my way home on the ring road via the Mehwar. The intersection was always a nightmare and I used to have to plan ahead about how to tackle this intersection, or rather avoid it all together. If I got caught on the wrong side of the intersection it could mean about 45-60 mins of waiting at this junction. A true nightmare, and it didn't make a difference what time I started my journey home, I would always meet the same problem (unless I waited to midnigth or so, I think)

Amazingly every since the 28th January my drive back to Mohandseen has been different, arriving at the junction it always seems to be empty and the traffic is flowing well through it. I honestly totally forgot the sight of cars lined up for a distance on the ring road waiting to merge.The first few weeks I reverted this to the curfew and the stress and fear that people had making them less mobile around town. However lately the curfew has been pushed out and people didn`t really bother much about it, nonetheless the junction remains to be clear at different hours of the evening. It is really baffling me, how come the problem just dissappeared?

The only difference I could make out is the Police men at the junction and a little further in Lebanon square, or rather the lack of them is more correct. Is it the notion that they always needed to have lebanon street under control becuase of Habib Eladly, ex-minister of interior? no clue but hope that if the policemen are the reason for all the delays that were at this junction that they pay them double to stay at home :) and make sure they stay put.

Tahrir Square March 17th Where is everybody

I had to go to GardenCity in Downtown Cairo today, and after finishing the things I had to do I was thinking what was the best way to go back to Dokki, and for some reason as soon as I was in Kasr Eleiny street I found myself walking towards Tahrir square. I saw a few people demonstrating in front of the prime minister’s office, didn’t know what they were asking for and my curiosity to know was faint at best. I kept on walking towards Tahrir square to that the subway.

In Tahrir square this afternoon it felt pretty different, I was a passer-by not a demonstrator and revolution seeking individual for a change. Amazingly I was hard for me to remember when I was last there and was extremely surprised that I last there briefly almost 2 weeks ago (I refused the call for going last Friday and thought it was not called for what so ever) and despite that it was such a small period of time the feeling was totally different.

I have to say that my feeling of Nostalgia for the days from Jan 25th till the March 3rd, and I really miss them with all the happiness, fear, sadness, anger, and pride. The memories came quick (after all it is still only 7 weeks since it all started despite that it feels like a decade), and I hope that the realities of Egypt in the next years would make me feel happiness and pride whenever I popped into the square.

Where was all the people that were here, the tents, the discussions the chants the energy the spirit of all the people of Egypt that lived settled in the square during the revolution. It felt different, street vendors were lined up where they used too before selling all kinds of different stuff (most from China, as a matter of fact even passed a Chinese young lady selling stuff on the side walk), shoe cleaners, food vendors all the usual stuff. Traffic was flowing in the square, which is something I forgot how it looks for a long time when the square was one small continent (not even a country) with a lot of different people unified for a common good.

My eye was quick to notice from a distanse that KFC was back in business, amazing that he didn't change the colonial’s image to a more familiar Egyptianized version. Saw them renovating Hardees (Sabry you can use it as a landmark again) the shops selling bags were all setup, ticket offices were open and “Z” was in business. However, it didn’t feel the same, didn’t get the feeling it was as busy as before and definitely look at a different scene than the one I saw day in and day out in Tahrir where this was the headquarters of PR, entertainment, medical support and many other things. Shops were open and life was coming back.

I stepped into the subway to cross from the Mogama3 to the corner of Talat Harb street to buy a flag (lost the "good" flag that I had in the revolution so thought I would pick one up). The flags of the world is located on the corner building and was close to all the action. The building looked its same old image and the office was just the same as I saw it 5-6 years earlier when I bought the flag to show my pride to be an Egyptian. Talked with the owner and he mentioned stories about things that happened to the store and the flags that got stolen from his shop and on the mast he has, and how he had to protect the store in different days from even silly vandalism. It was a reality check that within all the love, good manners and fascinating environment in the square, there were real people, who span a huge variety of different values and ethics. The guy also mentioned that a lot of people asked him for the old flag and that one customer gave him an order for 1000 small flags from the days of the king.

Went back into the subway, this time to go back to Dokki and again felt an itch inside, looking at the faces of people they looked different, a spectrum of people that seemed to go their own way, going on with their lives. A different scene from the subway in the first weeks of Feb, where the people seemed to be going in waves all with a similar purpose and the types of people were different.

It really felt odd, not sure if this strange feeling would hit me every time that I go to Tahrir, not sure what it would feel to go to the corner of Ramsis and Abdelkhalek Tahrwat st. again, only time will tell...