Africa Cup of Nations Notebook - Day 8

Crossing roads is like Russian Roulette

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Roads in Cairo are wide and smooth. Most highways have four to six lanes (even eight), one-way roads that would ordinarily make driving such a comfortable experience.

But spare a thought for the poor pedestrian. With few and far apart zebra crossings, getting to the other side of the road can be a harrowing experience for the uninitiated.

You time your walk in such a way that you will be weaving one lane to the next, assuming (hopefully) the driver in the car will swerve to away from you, to your left, or right, at high speed.

Imagine crossing Thika Road at undesignated crossing points.

Talk a walk at 3am if you want, it’s safe

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One thing you have to give to Cairo is the relative safety of people.

Petty crime is not visible – muggings, purse snatching, bag stealing that is so common in Nairobi.

Itinerary traders, shopkeepers openly display money as they trade. You can walk on the street feeling as safe as the new Kenyan money in CBK’s vaults.

The city comes alive at night and residents are very active late into the twilight zone.

It is not uncommon to see people walking on the streets at 2am, 3am as they go about their normal activities.

Cars run on natural gas here

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Cairo has a population of 20 million and an estimated 2.2 licensed vehicles.

The expectation is that they city would be sitting under a haze of smog. But surprisingly, that is not the case.

There is hardly any car exhaust pollutant in the air. This is because most cars in the city run on liquefied natural gas and drivers can fill their tank at a, well, gas station.

There is a rule in the city that discourages cars running on petrol and diesel from operating on the roads of Egypt’s capital city to protect the environment.
A litre of the gas goes for 2.95 EGP (about Sh18).

Boy from Mandera hustling in Egypt

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Is it that Kenyans can spot their compatriots from miles away, miles from home? Here was yours truly with a group of Kenyan journalists busy at McDonald’s.

As the struggle to communicate between English speaking and Arabic speaking persons commenced a voice boomed from across the room. “Sasa! Habari yenu!” and there was this lanky boy with a smile on his face.

In perfect Swahili he explained he was from Mandera and had come to Egypt to try and improve his economic status. He said he had attended the Kenya versus Algeria match at the 30 June Stadium to give his home team support as animated Swahili banter dominated the air waves.