Life Under the Overpass:
26th of July Street in Zamalek

May 30, 2006

The view across 26th of July Street in Zamalek.. it is also the heart of the neighborhood known as Zamalek, which is an island in the Nile. I lived here during my time in Egypt during the 2002-2003 year.. and it is fun to come back and point things out to Emily. In this case, pictured above, we are standing in the juice stand from which I bought countless glasses of orange and mango juice.

26th of July Street is the main drag of Zamalek, but it is all oddly cast into a shadow by the freeway overpass running above it. After spending time on this street it is easy to forget the road running overhead.. but it is there.

What makes one Cairo neighborhood more desirable than another is naturally the stores that set up in them. Zamalek features two upscale bookstores (i.e. featuring English books) and a passel of trendy restaurants.. not to mention several newstands and clothing stores. The area sidestreets are heavily populated with embassies, so there is a built in foreign (and wealthy) customer base.

No matter where you are in Cairo, you cannot escape the sight of average people going about their lives.. hailing a taxi or getting onto a service. This constant presence of people doing something becomes one of the comforts and pleasures of Cairo.. eventually.

The following are two more pictures of life going on as normal..

Below is a video clip of daily life.. my goal being to supplement the still photos with a brief glimpse of moving life. In this case you see students from the nearby art school walking around.. and at the end watch a girl stop a taxi and get in. It is a ritual that everyone in Cairo who is not getting toted around by air-conditioned tourist buses must experience.