Today was not one of those days. The sky is overcast and the air is surprisingly damp. However, I had plans that were not to be broken - my first trip downtown since the revolution!
The first change I noticed was walking to the metro. Typically, walking to the metro in my neighborhood has meant endless catcalls and harassment from the time I set foot on the Corniche until I'm safely ensconced in the women's carriage of the metro. (I have not ridden the metro since January when some men were aggressively shouting at my roommate and I trying to get our attention). In a surprising 'New Egypt' development, I've ridden the metro twice in two days this weekend, and neither there nor back did I get more than a single "Welcome to Egypt!" This, in and of its self, is enough to give me pause.
My first year in Egypt, I would occasionally take the metro downtown on Friday or Saturday mornings and go to a museum, or shopping, or wandering. Midan Tahrir was always bustling with people and traffic (except the very early Friday mornings, when only tourists were about). What I remember most about emerging from the metro in Tahrir Square, pre-revolution, is that there were always PEOPLE and CARS everywhere.
This morning, there was a distinct change stepping off the metro in Sadat station. Most of the passengers getting off were Egyptian women; as opposed to a mix of Egyptians and Westerners. The metro station was virtually empty compared to Saturday mornings in the past. When I emerged on the street, where there were once throngs of tourists trying to navigate the streets/hawkers/buskers/traffic, I saw only four. There were police directing traffic in the square, but, even though it was still quite a lot of traffic, it was not what it used to be. A few enterprising individuals sold tee shirts around the square, and most gave honest 'Egyptian' prices to me - only one man was fool enough to think I was a tourist and more than double the price of a tee shirt. Generally, there was no need to haggle, or argue, or push, or run through traffic. There was hardly anybody there.
The purpose of the jaunt downtown was a book fair hosted by AUC (American University, Cairo). It was a well stocked fair where I got three hard-back cookbooks (two Collichio, one Ripert) for under $20; some handicrafts made and sold by Eritrean and Sudanese refugees; and loads of books, which are usually quite expensive here, on deep discount.
On the way out of the campus, I took a few pictures. One wall of the AUC compound was decorated with post-revolution graffiti that was compelling. I love graffiti, particularly uplifting graffiti with a purpose.
As we left few protestors were still stationed in the center of the square, though they were really more standing and chatting than protesting. However, the scorch marks on the old NDP building, just beyond the pink museum, are still stark reminders of all that happened here. There are still broken out windows and myriad litter of a revolution, which seems to have been ground into the cement of the pavement in a way that appears un-sweepable.
One can never say it isn't always interesting to live in Cairo!
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