Return to Downtown

I took my first walk today through Downtown since the revolution ended. Apart from a vocal knot of men gathered on one side street near the Interior Ministry -- who based on their appearance and location I assume were policemen demonstrating for higher wages, an unexpected splinter protest group that has appeared in the wake of Mubarak's departure -- things seemed more or less normal. The trash that had accumulated during the occupation of Tahrir had been cleared away and traffic was flowing as usual around the square, and most businesses that had not been damaged too badly during the unrest were open again (among the worst-hit establishments I saw were those in the immediate vicinity of the AUC campus, including McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, and Radio Shack, all of which looked as though they had been completely gutted by looters and might not reopen for months). 

The Costa Coffee on Mohamed Mahmoud Street, across from AUC's main gate.

On a main street leading into Tahrir, teams of young Egyptians were sprucing up the iconic checkerboard curbs of Cairo's Downtown with fresh coats of paint, while soldiers reclined against tanks, chatting with passersby and drinking tea.