Following almost two years of closure, Al-Sadat metro station witnessed Wednesday morning cheers, selfies, and patriotic songs celebrating the reopening of the station, which was closed by the order of the Interior Ministry for “security reasons”.
Between middle aged women cheering in joy, young men taking pictures near the “Al-Sadat” sign, and riot police observing the festivities in the station, happiness occupied the faces of many.
Since its closure after the post-Rabaa Al-Adaweya dispersal violence, millions of Egyptians have suffered overcrowding during morning rush hours, as Al-Shohada metro station became the only transfer point between the most popular first and second lines.
Situated in Tahrir Square, the host of the 25 January Revolution against the Mubarak regime and the brutality of its security forces, the station is currently filled with police conscripts, metal detectors, and female police.
Outside the station, protesting is banned, street vendors are barred, and riot police are stationed near the Egyptian museum. There also lies a huge Egyptian flagpole, and the remnants of posters from the presidential campaign of current President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stuck over old graffiti.
Photos By Mohamed Omar and Mahmoud Fikry
