Egyptian traffic

We arrived back in Alexandria yesterday and I've just got to get this out of my system. The traffic is terrifying! It was 'interesting' around Alexandria but I rather thought the equivalent of the motorways would be better if only because everyone was going in the same direction. How naive can one person be?

In the UK you can only overtake on the outside, you keep to the inside lane unless overtaking, you indicate when changing lanes, you keep a sensible distance from the person in front (well...that's the theory) and non-motorised vehicles up to a minimum horsepower are not allowed. So first - forget all that!

Picture a wide road, with or without lane markings; add the usual vehicles plus open back trucks with one or two buffalo, sheep or goats tied down in the back accompanied by one or two men sitting on the side or perched on the bumper hanging onto the tailgate while going at 60-odd miles per hour, or full of men, women and children packed tight, or sacks of something-or-other or furniture with small boys perched on top; not to forget the donkeys and carts, tock-tocks and motorcycles with ladies riding pillion side saddle. I even saw one scooter with the lady passenger riding side-saddle holding a baby and another with the crash-helmet proudly tied in place-of-honour on top of the luggage rack by a bare-headed rider. Oh, and a tock-tock is a three-wheeler with the driver in the center at the front and a bench behind for two people huddled close.

Now you've taken notice of them - ignore them, overtake whatever side you like, don't bother indicating because they'll only speed up to stop you getting in front of them, hoot the horn regularly to make sure they know you're there and get out of your way, hoot especially loudly at the pedestrians crossing the road and the lorry that's broken down in the middle lane where the driver is tinkering under the bonnet. Oh and beware of traffic trying to cross the central reservation, both at recognised and unrecognised turning points while at the same time swerving to avoid potholes.

I quickly developed a survival stragegy - I admired the scenery out the side window or shut my eyes. I was just thankful I was with a good driver and stood the best chance available of coming out of it all in one piece.

All things being relative, it was a 'good' drive up to Cairo and then we hit dreadful jams on the ring road, not a good thing in the heat. We didn't go into central Cairo but headed round it to a satellite town/city called El Rehab where we stayed overnight before taking the agricultural road to the village. Coming back there were no hold ups and no livestock-bearing trucks but it was just as scary. The agricultural road was the worst but once we hit the desert road from Cairo to Alexandria it wasn't so bad - or maybe I was becoming acclimatised.

Learning to drive in the UK is more of a handicap than a help for driving here but, to put things in perspective, I've only seen one minor bash here whereas the BBC world news the last few days has been full of the 37-vehicle fatal pile-up on the M5 in England...so who's got the right of it then, eh?

Egypt or bust

A short while ago I booked a trip to Egypt at considerable expense and the following day there was civil unrest. Pardon my selfish outlook on things but I did wonder if I'd left it a day I might have got cheaper seats. Then there were violent protests in Cairo during the first weeks of October. Not to be outdone, one of Iceland's volcanoes decided to stir giving concerns about more flight disruptions.

Finally everything went quiet and came the day...

The plane was an hour late leaving Heathrow on Saturday but only quarter hour late getting to Cairo. There were surprisingly few people around and as I more-or-less know the ropes by now I sailed through Visa application (after going to three wrong windows), passport control and security. It was all very leisurely and finally I was on the plane for Alexandria in good time with very little waiting around.

I completely forgot to text my friends when I landed and, long story short, confusion reigned for a short while before we found each other.

When I was last here eighteen months ago Mount Unpronounceable erupted in Iceland and I was looking forward to an enforced extended stay. Sadly, flights resumed by the time I was due to come back - message to Katla...feel free, I'm here! Wrong attitude boss, I know, but hey - work or play? Hmm...no contest!

Tahrir Square

Relief! My friend arrived back in Cairo on Friday to the news that Mubarak had stepped down. Her son had been in Tahrir Square that day and reported the most incredible atmosphere. He took her to the square today to experience it for herself and I've received a photograph of her in front of an army tank. I've learned that her son had patrolled with his cousins, defending homes, water pumps and electricity supplies, at one stage they had to chase off an escaped prisoner. I'm immensely proud of him but I'm very glad he did't let me know at the time, I'd have worried even more than I did.

The work now is to re-establish normal life and the Egyptian people have taken the first practical step of cleaning and repairing Tahrir Square. Next comes the cleaning and repairing of their society and I wish them every success in their work.

Egypt

I’ve been watching the Egyptian situation with a personal interest. I was in Alexandria for 10 days last spring, staying with an old school friend and her Egyptian husband and son. My friend flew back to the UK for a brief, long-planned visit with her parents the day before Cairo airport closed. Had she known events would escalate as they have she would have stayed there. She’s now worried about whether she will be able to return as planned.

Her husband and son had driven from Alexandria to Cairo, skirting the problem areas, to take her to the airport on their way to her husband’s village outside Cairo where they have a house and numerous relatives. The internet has been down, even if they had had access in the village, and SMS messaging has been virtually non-existant. I’ve managed to speak to both her husband and son over the last few days on the mobile phone and they assure me they are safe and well but here we have all been worrying about what will happen next. Now, tonight, I watch the mounting violence on the news with horror.

The point is, for me, we learn about this sort of thing in the news all the time; somewhere in the world someone is living in fear of their life. We watch events unfold and decry the waste of life, the devastating effects on society; feel for the people involved and hope that everything works out in the end. Then something happens in a place we’ve been to and to people we know and care about. The shock, fear, sympathy we thought we’ve felt in the past pales beside the horror of realising it’s now personal.

I first went to Egypt 30 odd years ago when my friend first married, then again last year. Everyone I met on both occasions was kind, interested, proud of their country and eager to make sure I felt welcome. Egypt changed a lot in the 30 years between my visits, more western-style shops and malls, fewer markets for example – better toilets! What hadn’t changed was the good-hearted interest towards a visitor.

I shudder now to think of the good people I met, in the midst of all this terror. I hope to go back to Egypt later this year and I hope this trouble will be behind them. Do I care about the Egyptian people as a whole? Yes, but I confess to a greater concern for those individuals I know, and pray they are all there and safe when I return.