Tahrir Square REunion Friday July 29, 2011
Today I was booked for a show, and they ended up canceling my show at the last minute. Grrrr…. 
But I did want to go to Tahrir Square to see what was going on so I wasn’t that upset. All day I had been watching news reports and it seemed to be a very strange day because the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked Tahrir Square. A friend of ours was there and said that they would probably not let me in because I have an American passport and they even took over the gates (checking people for ID’s and security) usually regular revolutionary volunteers do the checking. I have been to Tahrir Square so many times I can’t even count and have never had a problem, so I was curious to see what would happen today.
I was fashionably Egyptian late. Which means I missed all the light to take good pictures (without flash). We arrived about 7pm and when we drove on Kasr El Nil bridge toward Tahrir Square, it was really weird. We saw lots of buses parked on the side of the bridge, and men with full beards and long white galabeyas, obviously very Muslim. I have lived in Cairo almost 3 years and have never seen so many people with beards and galabeya’s congregated in one place. I had heard on the news that many of the usual protesters had left because they were supposed to be showing unity between all the groups and it turned into a very Muslim protest. They were also apparently shouting Muslim slogans and took over all of the stages at the same time. At one point my friend even said Muslim Brotherhood people were carrying pro-Mubarak protesters on their shoulders and came into the center of the square which is not a good sign because they were assuming they were trying to incite riot.
When we entered the square we were kind of shocked because we thought it would be jam packed as we heard on the news. Apparently, droves of people had already left on the buses and I assumed that lots of the regulars in Tahrir Square also left. We met our friend at his tent, and because we were carrying big cameras people told us to leave the tent. Ramy and I are very often mistaken for journalists and we are somewhat used to this treatment, but somehow it seemed worse today. It was a bit scary but thank God nothing happened. I didn’t take so many pictures because I didn’t feel very comfortable. I got a few shots and then we left about 45 minutes later because the atmosphere wasn’t very welcoming. Here’s just a few snippets of what we saw while we were there. Enjoy
OMG I sooo hope the Muslim Brotherhood does not take over…Egypt will turn into another Iran or Saudi Arabia! Religious fanatics are so scary!
You got some great shots Aleya! Seems like very few women were there (: Are the men still camping out there, and if so, have they been there awhile now?
Thanks Gerri. Yes they have been camping in the square for about 2 weeks now I think. I will post some daytime photos in the next few days as I was there to renew my visa at the Moghama for the last 3 days. Tahrir Square is quiet on the weekdays usually (unless something starts to happen then people call each other to come out and support). Women are always about 8 to 1 ratio in my opinion. There are always much more men thank women. I think its probably because women are at home taking care of children. BUT there are lots of women and younger girls that come out also and they do camp out as well. The younger generation are very pro-activist and want change for the country. My friend told me one day that a friend of hers says her prayers every Friday and goes to Tahrir Square and in the beginning when it was very dangerous should would also say her death prayers and stay on the front lines of everything. She was always ready to die for her country and cause. I don’t know if I could do that. God Bless them in their journey.
Rosie I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into that.