Cairo traffic is a traumatic experience that Cairenes are subject to on a daily basis, but today was quite exceptional due to heavy showers and thunder storms that transformed most streets into muddy lakes. In a desperate attempt to escape the inevitable on my way home from downtown, my cab driver picked the Emtidad Ramses Street exit off October bridge in the direction of Nasr City.
For almost half an hour, all cars were motionless. Children would run back and forth along the sidewalks of the bridge as helpless, tired drivers waited in despair. After serious investigation, the taxi driver announced that it was going to take a while because rain water had blocked the exits and all cars that attempted to swim simply broke down.
I decided to jump ship, and thanked God I had given up driving (little did I know). Walking off the bridge I explained the situation to all those who were stuck. One of them asked me to spread the word and ask all the cars to go back and use the left exit instead. I did as I was told and in collaboration with another traffic victim, found myself organizing traffic as cars moved backwards.
I walked off the bridge on the small sidewalk painted with black and white. It was quite difficult because of all the uncovered electricity cables connected to the lamp posts. I walked half way home, trying to avoid muddy streets, cars and "humorous" men walking by (it was a Thursday and a lot of people like to roam the streets and harass women in general as part of the weekend routine) until finally a cab driver stopped. As he drove in the wrong direction in order to avoid traffic and swamps, one of the other two passengers explained that she had been locked for more than an hour in the underground metro between two stations in complete darkness.
I reached home after almost two hours of agony, during which I didn’t spot a single policeman, traffic organizer, or any official but my fellow traffic victims.
