cairo traffic has become my subject of interest lately
since it is all we talk about everywhere we go
me and different family members were stuck for 2 hours today
on different occasions on the road.
it has almost stopped.
it is 2010 and the traffic has become such a problem
that very soon the international media will come and broadcast it
a phenomenon is what it is
a zoo
a jungle
a nightmare
a practical joke
first it was funny
then it is not anymore
it's a disaster
cars just stop for hours
usually fridays are the good days
we decided to cross over to the other side like we always used to
from the island of zamalek all the way to city stars: the mall that was destined to be in the most
visually unappealing part of cairo; nasser city.
we go full of hope, wanting to see a movie.
to our surprise 20 million of cairenes thought the same thing.
city stars on a friday, today was almost like the most holy day in Saudi, the day when the pilgrims wait on the mountain before hajj.
hundreds of egyptians filled with hope roam the mall in happiness, in gratitude that there is such a mall.
a place to go and come back from on a holiday.
the good news is they are not just eating, they are actually shopping too!
they are carrying bags with purchased items!
red teddy bears and glittering valentines presents are being sold at every corner.
young lovers spending their cash at every store.
people are actually shopping!
a growing middle class everyone!
hope for the people!!
young men in love and women in their red head scarves buying gifts because valentines day is almost a national holiday in Cairo.
No country takes this day as seriously as we do, the egyptians revere nothing more than this special day.
two weeks before valentine's day and every store is infected with the color red.
you can find in cairo the biggest teddy bears on earth and they are all steaming red like an allergy, like a rash nothing is subtle about them, but that is why they were created.
we can forget anything but we will always remember roses on valentine's day, from your security guard to your own boss, everyone knows about it. and i think it is endearing how much love matters to our people.
some hate it, but the majority freak out and rush to the streets picking the teddy bears, chocolates, and roses two days before the day hits the nation. and on valentines day the traffic stops, even three days before.
the great nation is in stress for two weeks before and no one stays home everyone is lost between the stores trying to buy the present that says it all.
we went to city stars to see a movie that is the most opposite thing to our realities in Cairo. An L.A movie called " Valentines day" is a movie with a wonderful cast and an endearing light plot! but watching it next to the couple next to me and hearing the remarks from the couple behind me made everything so much funnier. Our people know how to ruin the movie experience for you, in my case it was so much funnier and thanks to them.
we leave the movie theatre and we face the bitter reality of our traffic in cairo, we are trapped, for hours, we discuss life, future plans, death and everything on this ride. Actually it brings you closer with your car partner, you have this traffic bond, when you arrive you feel like buying "we survived 6 of october bridge disaster t-shirts"!
we arrive after forgetting the movie we saw, and wondering how we got the guts to go to the other side?
what were we thinking?
we were asked if we were crazy by many when we told them about our attempt to go to city stars, that mall on the other side of cairo.
that mall that has all the dreams of westernization in it, fromm star bucks to la senza, from seeing ashton kutcher and jessica alba on the big screen, to eating burger king. that illusion called city stars.
Everything there is borrowed, nothing is egyptian except for the pharaonic architecture, and the people in it. it is such an alien in its district, standing like an outcast in between the haphazardly built buildings and with a garage that can keep you an hour in line.
we came back like two poor souls who experienced a disaster, with knees that want to be stretched and backs that want to be laid flat.
we came back vowing never to repeat the trip on a friday, a thursday, a wednesday or a saturday.
in this great city almost everyone has a car, some people have cars from the 1920s and everyone will use their car, even if its just to cruise around the block.
Everyone has a car, a phone and a pack of cigarettes, even if they do not have an education, healthcare, or an idea of a future.
when in Cairo, stay close to home, life is too short to waste in cairo traffic. this great city has almost stopped moving and ask anyone, everyone is complaining.
No comments:
Post a Comment