Streetwise Cairo

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After living in Cairo for any amount of time, you quickly learn the ropes for two fundamental skills: using taxis and crossing the street.

Zen and the art of using taxis

Cairo's underground metro system covers a relatively small area, and the city buses are invariably packed, so the best way of getting around town is to catch a taxi. Luckily every second or third car here is one of the thousands of battered black-and-white taxis that trawl Cairo's streets looking for passengers.

Hailing a taxi is as simple as stretching out your arm with your hand palm-side down. Say the general area of your destination, and if the driver is interested, he'll simply nod, you climb in, and off you go. (Truth be told, I've never had a taxi driver decline a destination. Foreigners are viewed by most drivers as potential targets for fleecing; more on this in a bit).

The trick is to appear very confident, as if you've done this a thousand times before, even if you haven't. Taxi drivers can sense the slightest hesitation or uncertainty in your demeanor, which opens the door to getting taken when you arrive at your destination (Cairo taxis don't use meters, so the price you pay is very negotiable). It helps if you can chat a bit in Arabic during the ride in an attempt to show that you're not a wide-eyed new arrival in town.

In fact, the ride itself can be quite an adventure; one taxi ride in particular stands out in my mind. The driver must have been an aspiring Formula-1 driver, due to the way he darted in and out of traffic, cutting everyone else off, taking advantage of the slightest gaps in traffic, and using the horn liberally (many things in taxis are sure not to work, but the horn will always work). It was like being in a race car video game, except this was very real; several times I cringed as we seemed sure to mow down a pedestrian, only to have the pedestrian and the car complete some sort of strange dance where each avoided colliding with the other with the smallest of clearances. It didn't help that my seat belt was broken (as in most taxis), placing me completely at the mercy of the driver. I felt like kissing the ground when I finally arrived.

Anyway, when you arrive at your destination, you should have the fare ready. The trick is to know the approximate going rate for the distance you've traveled, also taking into account time spent sitting in traffic, etc. It's all a bit of an art -- you want to pay a price as close as possible to what "ordinary" Egyptians pay, while the driver often wants to extract as much as possible from you, the foreigner. If you've played your cards right, the driver will simply accept the amount you've given him and all is well. However, if you've misjudged the fare, or if the driver is out to fleece you, some further "negotiations" may take place. Luckily this has only happened to me once or twice so far.

Why did the foreigner cross the road?

Broken seat belts notwithstanding, riding in taxis feels like the safest thing in the world compared to crossing the street as a pedestrian. You take your life in your hands every time you cross a busy street in Cairo. There are no such things as crosswalks or traffic lights, just the continuous stream of cars competing with each other (and pedestrians) for the right of way.

My first few days here I watched in morbid fascination as Egyptians calmly walked out into traffic, threading a very careful needle between the speeding cars, eventually snaking their way across the street. I tried to use Egyptians as human shields wherever possible, crossing the street along with them. Inevitably though, the time came when there were no Egyptians around, and I was on my own to cross the street.

It is an interesting experience to step out into rushing traffic. Your instincts are screaming at you that this is lunacy, but your mind is saying you need to get across this damn street. My first few "solo crossings" were filled with hesitation, bordering on panic, which is the worst thing you can do. The key is to try and maintain a constant pace across the street, stopping only when necessary to avoid being run down by a taxi or bus that simply isn't going to yield. When I finally made it to the other side my first time, a sense of exhilaration usually reserved for extreme sports (hanging off a cliff, rappelling 100 meters down into a canyon while in New Zealand comes to mind) filled me. I had made it!

Amazingly, the adrenaline rushes are starting to wear off, and I'm starting to step off into traffic to cross the street (almost) calmly. Welcome to Cairo.

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Comments

[Shawn]

Crossing trafic
Foreign traffic can surely be a frightening thing! I was almost the hood ornament on a bus in Beijing myself! Glad to hear you made it across the damned street and are getting to see more of Egypt.