The other day Froody and I stopped at the local bakery to buy some bread. It was a bit crowded so I opted to wait on the sidewalk. This meant that I had several minutes of being outside and not moving, something that doesn't really happen much for me in Cairo, so I was able to look about me and soak in a bit more of my adopted neighborhood. Being on Sharia Tahrir means lots of people and many cars honking and trying to zoom past. But now I actually got to see it all as well as look UP at the tall buildings lining the sidewalks. It felt a lot like a river in a rainforest- the one place where there aren't any trees overhead which means that the sun can finally reach the ground. The city is like that, too. On the smaller, narrow side-streets it's a bit dim and the buildings are so close that looking up rarely affords a good look at them.
Why not look up more? I, for one, like to see where I'm about to place my foot so that I can avoid potholes (yes, on the sidewalks, too), manhole covers (again, on the sidewalks), trees, cats, garbage, mysterious puddles, beggars, beggars selling tissues, shoe-shiners, people selling any of the following: shoes, headscarves, clothes, sunglasses, ties, watches, pens,food. Oh, and cars. Because the sidewalks are so...full... most folks choose to walk in the street, which still requires one to keep their wits about them, as you may be run over by cars, trucks, bikes, pushcarts, horse carts, donkey carts, and motorcycles.
So, while I walk about with my eyes ever scanning the ground beneath and ahead of me any opportunity I get to raise them to the sky is usually taken advantage of. And I'm usually glad I did.
2 comments:
There is some really great architecture in that area. But i know what you mean - it's always hard to stop to appreciate anything that isn't the guy in front of you, animal droppings, cracks in the road, and other random obstacles. LOL
Yeah, and the other things I didn't mention. :-( like dead cats :-((
Post a Comment