CAIRO - It's lunchtime and there's a big traffic jam, all the way from Isaaf going back as far as the Abul Ella Bridge (pictured) that joins Abul Ella with Zamalek, straddling the Nile. Such traffic jams have been common since the revolution, in the absence of Traffic Police in many areas of Cairo. Let's hope they come back soon. In the meantime, notice the young man on the ‘Vespa', crossing the bridge in the Abul Ella direction, riding along the pavement in order to beat the traffic. Young motorcyclists have been behaving like this all the time since the police disappeared in late January. And imagine that these motorcyclists even have the cheek to beep with their horns if any pedestrians happen to get in their way! These days, because of the congestion, it's often just as quick to walk from Zamalek to Isaaf and vice versa as to use private or public transportation. The exercise is good, but it's a great inconvenience if you're in a hurry. Another problem is that, regrettably, you can't avoid inhaling a lot of pollution en route – and that must be a more serious problem than endless traffic jams and cheeky motorcyclists, whose vehicles, in many cases, aren't licensed these days.
