Sin City: Cairo

The past three days have been full of revelry as Cairo marked the end of Ramadan in typically loud and rambunctious fashion. Many Cairenes often escape to one of Egypt’s many beaches for the holiday, and those who don’t leave spend the afternoons at home with family before descending on the downtown neighborhood where I live. It was a relief when I remembered that all these people had come out in celebration rather than protest.

On the last night of Ramadan, young men waited—queued would be too generous a description—one block down from my building for the local liquor store to open. For a reason unknown to me (infant industry?), imported alcohol is not easily available in Egypt. A few local beers that taste equally bland, a couple of overpriced Egyptian wines, and homemade liquor known for its tendency to cause blindness are available in outlets spotted across the city. The shop on my street made the shrewd business decision to open at midnight on the last night of Ramadan. Closed for a full month, none of the beers were cold but that mattered little to the desperate customers.

I discovered the results of that decision when I woke up the next morning (afternoon, actually) and left my apartment. On the gray cobblestone sidewalk outside of my building, I stepped on the shattered remnants of a green beer bottle, part of the Stella brand label still distinguishable. The neighborhood was quiet for that time of day, as people slept off the previous night’s outing and sat at home with family. Crossing the street, I stole glances at a teenager on the opposite sidewalk drinking from a brown paper bag. At the end of the block, a small truck had backed up onto the sidewalk, replenishing the local shop’s beer supply while a line of customers streamed out the door.

Where the heck am I, I thought. This isn’t the ultra conservative behavior one might expect from a country now ruled by the “extremist” Muslim Brotherhood. And alcohol was not the only vice in ample supply this weekend; I caught more than a few wifts of hashish in the streets. Maybe that explains why on the second night of eid (holiday) I saw a guy lying calmly on the roof of his friend’s car as he drove around downtown.