Cairo and Alexandria weren't built for vehicles. There's no room for them on ancient city streets. The highways and arterials are chronically congested. And when drivers want to park, there's no place for them all. As in the fast-sprawling cities of all developing countries, vehicles have become a necessity. Cairo has a two-line subway system, but average people ride buses and vans that spider out to place beyond the subway's reach. I haven't seen one that wasn't jammed. Passengers cram in -- all but sitting on the drivers' laps. Those who can afford to do so take taxis. The one I took last night from the Khan al-Khalili market area to the hotel had no shocks and, how shall I put it?, a well-broken-in back seat. I don't want to think about what came out of the exhaust pipe. And people who can really afford it have private cars.
Add to the traffid the steady flow of pedestrians who dart among vehicles at whim making moves that would probably get them run over in most countries, and in the middle of the mix, in some neighborhoods, are donkey carts, market stalls set up in the street and the ubiquitous roadside tire changers and car repairs . Traffic jams are traffic jams, but I can't resist sharing a few images of creative parking as practiced in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt's two largest cities, that give eloquent testimony to the country's vehicular woes.
Parking Practices
Drivers park their cars bumper to bumper, up on the sidewalk, out in the street, wherever -- both a symptom of too many cars and a contributor to congestion.
Sharing the Road
As a bonus, I present the image below. Note that the cart is going against the traffic on a divided roadway:
Further Fall-Out: Bad Air
Wicked pollution (below), which harms health and damages buildings. This morning, the pollution layer is clearly visible from my 17th floor hotel room. I can enjoy the antiquities and ambiance of contemporary and traditional Egypt, and then leave. Millions of people must endure the air that is making my eyes sting and my throat hurt. A very sad byproduct of modern times.
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And an important point is that, even tho you can LEAVE Egypt, this kind of pollution is "normal" in most of the world, thereby affecting us ALL and the planet we can't leave. I found Bangkok worse than Cairo --
ReplyDeleteWhat about bicycles? When I was in Shanghai, bicycles covered the very wide road. If there's carts, why not bikes? And mopeds - I saw lots of those in Kathmandu.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the Egyptian government has any plans for better infrastructure, congestion plans, pollution plans, etc.? It sounds like they're where China was 10 years ago. Not that China is any great indicator of cleaning up their act, other than there's been a lot of publicity about their problems, and public outcry.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very nice, very informative. Yes you are right due to its historic perspective these cities are very important but its really need modern infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteMohammad Zohaib Khan from Atlanta
Lara - Egypt has so many domestic problems to contend with that it is difficult to know where to start. Everything should be a priority: protection of priceless antiquities, population explosion (some say up to 2 million annually), urban poverty (1 million squatters live in one of Cairo's main cemeteries), education (especially for girls), air pollution, traffic congestion, illegal building on agricultural land around Cairo, litter and trash, even stray animals (cats in Cairo, dogs in the country). It was impossible for me to get a handle on what the government is doing -- or can do to address these multiple problems.
ReplyDeleteSibylle - I saw very, very few bicycles in Cairo and not many motor scooters either. More scooters in Luxor but also few bicycles.
ReplyDeleteWild parking!
ReplyDelete