Cairo Needs You !
In Cairo they are talking about the Revolution. The revolution of January 25, 2011. For 18 days Egypt was all over the international news. Tourists and foreign workers were evacuated. Buildings burned, museums were looted, tanks were on the streets and people died.
But, in these 18 days, men and women, young and old, Muslims and Christians, rich and poor prayed together in Tahrir square. The army, greatly respected in Egypt, took control and provided leadership and order. Volunteers protected cultural institutions like the Egyptian museum and the Library of Alexandria. After 18 days, Mubarak resigned, his sons and some of his regime were arrested and change was promised.
I visited Cairo in late May. People still congregate in Tahrir Square, especially on Friday, but Cairo and Egypt have returned to normal life. Except for one thing. The tourists have not returned. Before the revolution the pyramids at Giza had 4000 people visiting an hour. Last week there were only 500 visitors in a day. The car park is empty of buses, there is no queue for tickets, or need to turn up and queue at 7am to get one of the 150 tickets to go inside the Great Pyramid. Just turn up. The views are uninterrupted. We got to the Egyptian museum about an hour after opening, and were alone in the room with King Tutankamun’s mask and sarcophagus. I had the Coptic museum to myself, a building of incredible wood panelling, and housing 6,000 papyrus manuscripts including the Psalms of David and the manuscripts of Nag Hammadi. On a tour of Old Cairo by night, we got into the ???. Mohammed told me we were very lucky, the officials don’t normally let people in at night, but they need the business. He rang fellow guide Hossam to boast of his achievement.
There is supposedly a curfew from 2am to 5am but Cairo is a 24/7 city, reminiscent of New York, Saigon or Mumbai. The curfew is ignored. The city is chaotic, but the people are friendly and proud of their city and their country. Somehow the cars manage to avoid each other, just. Taxi drivers will still try to scam you, everyone has a brother in Sydney and men want to marry you. Hassle in the markets is there, but wear sleeves, cover your tattoos and thighs, and understand that conversation is part of the sales pitch. A polite no thankyou (la shukrun), once, and keep walking if you don’t want to be roped in to buying something. Some traders expressed worry about the lack of tourists and business in the souk. While most young people we spoke with were glad and proud of the “Facebook revolution”, others, generally older, are questioning whether is has been worth it, given the price they are now paying.
But my overwhelming impression was that young Egyptians want to be like the rest of Europe and the people they meet on Facebook. They want democracy, to be able to speak freely, express themselves, to elect their representatives, get an education and make progress.
If you have ever had any desire to go to Egypt, now is a great opportunity. I felt safe, excited and honoured to have a small experience of a major turning point in history. We had great guides who made sure we were safe, had plenty of good information to do things on our own and took us to their favourite places in their city. And like half the rest of the world on May 28, we watched Barcelona beat Manchester United.
