“Three years ago, it was an absolute privilege to have a shop located in Tahrir Square. Now, it is more like a curse,” said Mohamed Sultan, the owner of a shop that sells home supplies near Cairo's Tahrir Square. For almost three years, Sultan's and many other stores and cafés in Tahrir Square and nearby streets have had to abruptly close their doors after the square became a venue for protests and clashes, reports Nesma Nowar. Tahrir Square, one of Egypt's major public squares, became a well-known sight on world news after it witnessed the 25 January Revolution that ended former president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule. Since then, the Square has continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo, the last of which was the 30 June Revolution that led to the overthrow of former president Mohamed Morsi. Yet, as much as the Square and the surrounding downtown area have become important in Egypt's political life, their appeal as a major shopping destination has been fading. Downtown Cairo is one of the busiest areas of the capital and a prime shopping destination for many Egyptians due to the variety of goods sold there at affordable prices. “The area used to be crammed with people, a privilege that it no longer enjoys after the political turmoil scared off customers,” Sultan said. Business had been slow since the 25 January Revolution and many shop owners had had to lay off workers because they had not been able to pay them, he said, adding that for many people downtown Cairo was no longer a safe area and some customers had stopped visiting Tahrir Square and the surrounding streets. “The square has been suffering from a lax security presence since the revolution, paving the way for the many street vendors who have now occupied the area and tarnished its reputation,” Sultan said. Though many downtown shops opened their doors during the mass protests, their problems really came with the new scarcity of customers. “Sales dropped significantly after the revolution, though business could pick up should the protests end and security be restored,” he added. Though businesses in downtown Cairo have been the most affected by the protests since 2011, businesses in some other areas have also been hit by the violence that has gripped the country following the ouster of Morsi on 3 July. Supporters of the ousted president set up two sit-in camps at the Rabaa Al-Adaweya Mosque and in Nahda Square, harming many businesses and crippling the activities of residents, for example. Residents of the Rabaa Al-Adaweya area, located in the Nasr City district of eastern Cairo, described the Muslim Brotherhood sit-in as “a siege”, saying that they had been unable to go on with their daily lives as a result. While some shops in the area had remained open, others could not function during the six week sit-in, causing them huge financial losses. Even those that remained working complained of being unable to replenish stocks because the streets were blocked. Some shops in Rabaa Al-Adaweya and the nearby area were also damaged during the sit-in, sometimes as a result of skirmishes between pro-Morsi protesters and the security forces. Shops in the shopping area of the Obour complex overlooking Salah Salem Street in Heliopolis were also forced to shut down after clashes between the army and pro-Morsi protesters in front of the nearby Republican Guard building left some 52 dead on 8 July. Ahmed Abdel-Razek, the owner of a furniture shop in Salah Salem Street, closed his store from early July until mid-August, for example. Residents and shop-owners in Rabaa Al-Adaweya breathed a sigh of relief when the security forces dispersed the two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August, though business did not then get back to normal due to the three-month curfew imposed by the interim government on the same day in 14 governorates. The curfew was initially imposed from 7pm to 6am. The forced dispersal of the sit-ins, which left hundreds dead, sparked many days of street violence that had a predictably negative effect on Egypt's economy. Shops located in central Cairo and other high potential risk areas such as Nasr City and Giza were nearly deserted as people were afraid to go out because of the recurring clashes. While shops and markets in areas distant from the clashes fared better, the retail market has been witnessing weak demand as shops have had to reduce their working hours as a result of the curfew. Mustafa Mahmoud Square, one of the main squares in the middle-class district of Mohandessin, faced the same fate as downtown Cairo and Nasr City when it was attacked by angry supporters of ousted president Morsi who had tried to stage an alternative sit-in in the square. As a result, military tanks were deployed and many of the surrounding streets closed. Fridays have represented a particular challenge, as the security forces have sealed off the square, hurting many businesses. Though the government has now reduced the nationwide curfew to begin from 1am and continue until 5am on weekdays, the Friday curfew has not been shortened, as Fridays are a popular protest for those calling for the reinstatement of the ousted president. Mohamed Hammo, owner of a women's beauty salon in Mustafa Mahmoud Square, said that he had had to close his shop on Fridays “as no customers were able to come as a result of the closure of the square”. This had been a particular problem, he said, given the number of customers who had previously visited his shop on Fridays. Weddings, birthday parties and family gatherings all often take place on Fridays, he said. “Friday used to be the busiest day of the week, but now I miss it entirely,” he said, adding that his revenues had dropped significantly due to the closure. Other shops and restaurants in the square and nearby streets have also been suffering from low business activity. The country's evening curfew has been a shock to bustling Cairo, where shops and cafés routinely stay open into the night and people stay on the streets until near midnight. The curfew reduced Cairo's 24-hour life to just 13 hours, hurting many businesses in a city where nightlife is a key source of income. “Though I understand the importance of imposing the curfew to regain security and stability in the streets, it was harming our businesses badly,” said one manager of a restaurant in the Mohandessin area, adding that his sales had been cut by 60 per cent during the three-month curfew. The manager explained that this had been the first time that Egyptians had taken a curfew seriously and it had harmed the capital's economy. It was the second government-imposed curfew since the 25 January Revolution. The first had been imposed by the army in 2011, but many people had ignored it. This second time round, however, the curfew was strictly enforced and saw widespread compliance. The restaurant manager attributed this to people's fear, as more than 1,000 people had been killed across Egypt in the recent violence. With the lifting of the curfew on 14 November and the violence in the streets on the wane, Sultan, Hammo and other business owners believe that commercial activity may now rise, preventing further losses for their businesses.
