Travel: Ancient Wonders, Modern Lives

The Gadsden Times (Betty McCoy)

All Egyptians, no matter the religious belief, disobey all traffic laws. Very few lines delineate where cars should be driven. Those are given no heed whatsoever. Drivers head for any hole that is available. Few traffic lights are in existence, and those, too, are ignored.

Parking has no rhyme or reason, being three deep in places, usually on the sidewalks. The only requirement is to leave the car out of gear so it can be “rocked” to let another car out. The horse and buggy is known as the “Mercedes of the Nile,” taking up space in the streets along with herds of goats, donkeys and gaggles of geese. Pedestrians walk in the middle of the street with the animals and herders.

The Islamic religion does not require Egyptian women to wear the galabiya or the headdress. This is more a custom of traditional dress than a religious belief. The women wearing full cover with only the eyes showing are the true zealots. Many of the teenage girls, flip-flops adorning their feet, wear the traditional teen garb — blue jeans, T-shirts and a headdress. With the casualness of youth, they showed us how they brought the scarf over their heads, safety-pinned it in front and then swiped it to one side, giggling all the while.

See the above page fur the full story.