Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Back to business: Cairo is bustling again


CAIRO: Life began to return to the streets of Cairo on Sunday as banks and shops opened after nine days and the army stepped up its presence around Tahrir Square, epicentre of anti-regime protests.

As demonstrators staged a 13th day of protests against Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, banks began to reopen, and streets that have been nearly devoid of traffic filled up with vehicles, causing traffic jams.
"Thank God. Over the past 10 days I was hardly earning enough to pay for petrol and my shisha (water pipe)," said a taxi driver.

Workers at a McDonald's outlet scrubbed down front windows that had been whitewashed after the outbreak of demonstrations and the sudden absence of police, which triggered a wave of looting. "We'll open in half an hour," said an employee as others hurriedly mopped the floor.

Traffic jams returned to the traditionally crowded streets of Cairo, a city of around 20 million people, and the air was once again full of the sounds of car horns as people went back to work.

Police, who disappeared from Cairo's streets after violent clashes with demonstrators, had also returned, manning street corners and traffic circles. With their return, the so-called popular committees that have been standing guard in residential neighbourhoods to protect against looters had been noticeably reduced in areas toured by reporters.

Banks reopened across the city, and Egyptians queued to access their accounts. The central bank has limited daily personal cash withdrawals to 50,000 Egyptian pounds or $10,000. Some 150 people queued outside an HSBC branch in Giza.

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