Africa Cup of Nations Notebook - Day 16

3 per cent of Egyptians have East African origin

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The national and official language in Egypt is Arabic. Dialects vary depending on which part of the country you come from. However, most Egyptians are not Arabs as most of them believed. According to a 10-year of analysis of DNA samples from hundreds of people, the National Geographic Genographic Project in its genetic makeup of Egyptian nationals revealed that only 17 percent of them are Arabs, while 68 percent of the indigenous population is from North Africa, four percent are from Jewish ancestry, three percent are of East African origin, another three percent from Asia Minor and three percent are South European.

Common cab service here Uber and Careem

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Taxis in Cairo are as ubiquitous as insects. But to get the fairest charges you are better off with internationally known Uber. As long as you have the App on your phone getting an Uber is just a dial away.

Another common dial a cab company here in Careem. They are certainly taking Uber on. They are slightly more expensive than Uber but many drivers are shifting to Careem because of better returns according to them. One interesting fact about Careem is that you can cancel your ride at no costs. Yours truly has become a loyal customer.

Taxis white and very conspicuous

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In Kenya, taxis are by law meant to have a yellow line or be entirely yellow presumably for conspicuous identification as a public service vehicle. In Egypt, all taxis are a neutral white in colour. The taxis are easy to spot in Cairo zooming in and out of lanes as they pick and drop their passengers, mainly because of their white colour.

How come? Well, it is very uncommon to encounter a private passenger car that is white. Yes, they are there but Egyptians prefer black, grey, ivory and maroon coloured private cars. So a white car stands out on these streets.

Where is Afcon’s most successful coach?

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No coach has been more successful at the Africa Cup of Nations than Egyptian Hassan Shehata. He won the Afcon title three years in a row, in 2006 in Egypt, 2008 in Ghana and 2010 in Angola.

Shehata was also voted the Confederation of African Football Coach of the Year for 2008. The former international forward still commands a lot of respect in Egypt for his feats. He is based in Cairo and does football radio commentary. Shehata is also a Zamalek legend. He played for that great Egyptian club from 1967 to 1983 but for a five-year stint with Kuwaiti club Kazma.