Cairo...Capital of the (Arabic) World!

Day 2.5 - Cairo, what can be said about this absolutely enormous city! The streets are absolutely insane. I have been on a large tour of the city seeing much of it...and let me tell you it is HUGE geographically. In all of the kilometers driven, I think I have seen a total of two traffic lights. There are two traffic lights and yet millions of people (at least 16 million if not more) and probably at least a million cars, and yet two traffic lights? Is this efficient or not?

You compare this to, say NYC, where I come from. There is a traffic light every 1/20 of a mile going uptown and five going cross town block miles. There are two in Cairo (okay probably more, but really)...and yet I think Cairo "works better." Of course it is insane to cross the street, though you must likely will not get hit. It is even more insane to drive (not that I've done that, and don't plan on it), but the cars just kind of ease into one another. There aren't "lanes" per se, but more fluid attitudes at space. They aren't even attitudes.

Imagine in the US for instance, say the Highway state extradornaire, California. There how many thousands of miles of highways designed for the perfect driving experience where every one is supposed to get along and be happy. Yet there is road rage? People stop and maybe will get violent, or sometimes, deadly. And for what? There's traffic lights and even lane paintings and the like. Not in Cairo my friend and yes it works better.

Today for instance, taking a taxi to the Egyptian Museum, he truly stopped in the middle of the street. Not a small street, but the Times Square of Cairo, just stop, get out here, the Museum is over there. Yes, there were four cars behind us (everyone honks, even more musical in the John Cage sense of the word than NYC, police officer yelling at him, and me the "Frogger" as in the video game, a car coming in this lane, wait, cross, wait in this space between a bus and another taxi, leap frog to the next lane until crossed the huge turn around.

Enough about the cars - yesterday while meeting with one of the Egyptian film producers, a young lady who is seething for change in her country, and she says, "I'll help you, not because its a UN project, but because, I want to help you." You see, apparently many people in the world, the "developing world" who aren't so into capitalism and this or and disposable incomes (let's start with an income first, eh?) is not so into the UN. She asks what have they done? Who have they helped? She mentions a time when she was with 400 hundred kids who wanted to donate some food and money (not much, but worth thousands I'm sure to those who have) in Cairo to UNICEF...these 400 kids wanted to give a little to the children in Afganistan who are going through the first months of that continuing war, and the UNICEF office in Cairo did not want their help or eve let the kids in after they waited in the VERY HOT Cairo sun for four hours. How can I answer that?

But I do attempt to defend the UN over some typical Egyptian food last night to her (and mind you my assistant who is also not so into the UN's achievements) I begin by using an analogy from the film:

1) Grandmother - she wasn't able to go school
2) Daughter - she finished college, doesn't have a job because of poor economy
3) Granddaugther - what will she be able to achieve in her life, in this society?

Well, I tell the two of them that the UN is the grandmother, it is the first generation, its only 60 years old. What do you expect in 60 years. Gaudi's Sagrada Familia is what, in its 120th year, right and how finished is it.

She, the Egyptian, also feels that the UN is a vehicle for the US covert policies. They are spies and needs proof I am not with the CIA, or at least to sit over a tea and shisha to make sure I come in peace and not war as many of the Americans overseas these days. I think I convince her, let's see, we're supposed to be meeting tonight and she'll be bringing two potential actors to play the acting roles in the Cairo scene...

And about filming in Cairo; still waiting for the permission from Ministry of Information to film outdoors. Its the system, you understand. Let's see what happens?

More latter!