The first 10 days of Ramadan are over, that means all the family iftars are done and people head to the streets and see a new side of the city that only comes to life during Ramadan.
So I took to the streets of Cairo myself and after battling to find a busy spot that was not too loud I finally set myself up at a spot overlooking the Nile.
The mood was not set at Ramadan. With an oriental band playing in the background and laughter as well as what sounded like gibberish conversation taking place everywhere, it felt like a good night out.
Anyhow, it took me a while before I was able to get a piece of Sohour talk, so I closed my eyes and enjoyed the shisha aroma filling the air with the occasional breath of fresh Nile air.
And watching people chit-chat and drink, with the burst of energy in the place one would hardly think it were Ramadan, even some people swayed along to the music.
I was reminded of the many Ramadan soaps that constantly made me question when the notion of spirituality and silent prayers had lost its place over the years.
“So, Shadi, when would you cheat on your wife? Mohamed asked his friend with a smile.
Smiling back, looking at his wife and holding her hand, Shadi was quick to say, “When she stops realizing my needs, as that would mean there is nothing between us anymore.
Nermine patted Shadi and looked at Mohamed, “I agree with him, when I stop noticing his needs, then it should be over. How about you Mohamed? When would you cheat on Mona?
Mona shot a piercing look across the table at her husband, while he answered in a sheepish laugh, “Never, when the sex gets bad, but that will never happen with my tigress.
“Too much info, said Nermine playfully as they all broke into laughter.
I drank my strong Turkish coffee with satisfaction while my eyes wandered for something more Ramadanish to document.
Two young ladies sat close together talking at the same time to a man who caught my attention because his mouth was wide open, so I walked closer to the group to understand why.
“You girls are joking? In Ramadan? In Maadi? La’
“Eh you think we would make it up ya3ni, it was crazy and thinking back now it was dangerous too, what we did, it could have been a prank to get us, Arwa explained in disappointment.
Pushing her arm aside to try to cut her off, Marwa said in a louder voice, “Yosri we were driving home and in the opposite direction we saw this girl running for her life and as we got to the end of the road, we saw an odd looking car making a u-turn and heading back her way, so we turned back and asked her what was wrong.
Arwa jumped in to say, “She literally jumped into our car, she was sweating and could hardly breathe while she kept pointing back at the car.
Marwa cut her off again, “Ah, she said two guys started out by teasing her and she stopped thinking they needed directions when one of them got out of the car.
Yosri motioned in a calm-down motion, “Slowly girls, then what happened?
“They tried to force her into the car, so she ran for her life, they both said in one breath.
“I can’t believe in Ramadan? Yosri said shaking his head. “What has gotten into people, god keep you safe, at least you started the holy month scoring points up there.
Looking around, the place seemed to be full of couples, in all shapes and forms, cuddling, hugging, and lightly kissing in a very un-Ramadan like fashion, more like they were celebrating Valentine’s!
And in what seemed like a work outing, I overheard: “Islam, what’s the matter? Ramadan sure seems to have gotten the better of you, you look so pale and stressed out, Dina said to the rest of her friends.
Shaking his head, then looking up at the girls, Islam took a deep breath and shook his head some more, “It’s not Ramadan, well it is, but not really, not in the sense of fasting or being tired, it’s the driving, today I saw the most awful accident as I walked down to Tahrir bus station to catch a ride home.
“What happened?
Another shake of the head later, he replied, “This micro-bus packed with people at two o’clock decided to avoid the traffic so it turned left, which also happened to be the ramp onto 6th October bridge and at a high speed, two wheels went over the pavement and the bus overturned. “Oh my god!
“Yes people ran towards them, they managed to get the people who were inside out [of the bus], there was petrol everywhere, there could easily have been a fire. And as one of the men was running to help, a car came round the corner and knocked him over, it was crazy, just crazy! And this all happened two meters in front of me and I felt totally helpless, there was absolutely nothing at all I could do!
While for some Ramadan is a time to ask forgiveness, spend endless hours in prayer, food distribution and mending broken ends, for others it serves as an excuse to stay out till the wee hours of the morning.
