Cairo is truly a city that never sleeps. As I discovered on my way to the airport some days back.
I left house at 2.00 a.m to catch my flight to Mumbai and the entire city was alive. The Gamat-el-Dwal street was busy as ever. In addition to the cars, there were Victorian style horse buggies also vying for space. People were enjoying a night out lounging in the buggies and surveying Cairo form their elevated position. And of course, the coffee shops and the sweet corners were open but even restaurants like KFC and Hardees were still open and brimming to capacity.
And it was not just the arterial roads that were alive but also the small lanes and by-lanes were busy. At this time of the night, in any other city you would probably find very few cars-it would either be people like me who are traveling or some really sad and dreary souls. The streets would be deserted and the shops closed. But Cairo was bustling with life and the surprising thing is that it was a week night. In fact, close to the airport, for a couple of minutes, it was really slow going because there was a lot of traffic. Is it the warm summer evenings that are drawing people out or maybe the fact that the schools are closed?
This is in sharp contrast to what I recently witnessed in some other cities like Cape Town in South Africa and Windoek in Namibia, where once the sun sets, the streets soon empty out and it is not even safe to walk around. And Mumbai, the crowded metropolis would also be busy slumbering at this hour.
I like this bustling city even though my sleep is disturbed due to the incessant honking on the Gamat-el-Dwal street which even my sound-proof windows cannot keep out! And the late nights do not deter the Cairenes from being up early and going about their business as usual!
I left house at 2.00 a.m to catch my flight to Mumbai and the entire city was alive. The Gamat-el-Dwal street was busy as ever. In addition to the cars, there were Victorian style horse buggies also vying for space. People were enjoying a night out lounging in the buggies and surveying Cairo form their elevated position. And of course, the coffee shops and the sweet corners were open but even restaurants like KFC and Hardees were still open and brimming to capacity.
And it was not just the arterial roads that were alive but also the small lanes and by-lanes were busy. At this time of the night, in any other city you would probably find very few cars-it would either be people like me who are traveling or some really sad and dreary souls. The streets would be deserted and the shops closed. But Cairo was bustling with life and the surprising thing is that it was a week night. In fact, close to the airport, for a couple of minutes, it was really slow going because there was a lot of traffic. Is it the warm summer evenings that are drawing people out or maybe the fact that the schools are closed?
This is in sharp contrast to what I recently witnessed in some other cities like Cape Town in South Africa and Windoek in Namibia, where once the sun sets, the streets soon empty out and it is not even safe to walk around. And Mumbai, the crowded metropolis would also be busy slumbering at this hour.
I like this bustling city even though my sleep is disturbed due to the incessant honking on the Gamat-el-Dwal street which even my sound-proof windows cannot keep out! And the late nights do not deter the Cairenes from being up early and going about their business as usual!
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