Monday, September 17, 2007

Ladies Only

I finally worked up the nerve to surreptitiously snap a few metro photos. The car itself didn't seem to mind, but I think the women who purposefully boarded the "Ladies Only" car might have thought me strange had I started obviously shooting photos of them.

The Cairo metro is pretty nice and efficient. There are only a few problems: It is still under construction so it doesn't go enough places yet. It is overcrowded during rush hour. And they haven't worked out that "Let them off first" bit so each rush hour stop is like a combination back-to-school sale/wrestling match.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was last in Cairo, in 2001, they were digging a big old hole practically outside my room at the El Hussien in Islamic Cairo for the metro. Have the trains actually made it out there or are they still digging?

Marie Javins said...

I think that's the third line... still digging. I wish that line were finished. That's the one that goes to Zamalek!

Anonymous said...

Are the other cars co-ed or men only? It looks kinda nice. What do the mens cars look like....

Marie Javins said...

The first two cars are women only, but not all the time. It stops after rush hour--maybe 7:30 or so at night. The other cars are not men only and women traveling with men often ride in them. I've ridden in them plenty of times, because sometimes there is no chance to walk to the end of the platform. The men are actually really polite, but I try to avoid riding in their car because it means they have to give up more space than they normally would if it were a guy riding instead of me.

It's a nice metro when it's not rush hour. Nicer than many around the world.

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