I have to admit, patience forms in the back seat of a car in Egypt. Any use of profane language will not get you anywhere except maybe a scuffle with the grumpy taxi driver in the car ahead of you. Honking there will never get you anywhere either. It's like a baby crying in a nursery hoping to get attention...how many kids are crying there? Many people have just formed a unique way of dealing with the horrendous traffic of Cairo, just go with the traffic; even if you move a fraction, so be it. It's much better than the hassles of what might come from behind your temper being expressed. And back to the continuous honking. I've heard somewhere (as a joke) that Egyptian drivers honk more than they drive. The more I experienced the deadly hours in the back seat of a car in Egypt, the more I think that it might actually be a fact. And after getting out of the car sweaty, angry, dizzy, etc. my ears start ringing from the lack of honking. I've gotten so used to the noise of the musical of horns that peace and quiet seems unnatural.
One thing I've noticed this year with the drivers in Egypt is that they are very skilled; despite the fact that there are many accidents. It takes a great deal of talent in order to drive within the roads that contain absolutely no rules. The drivers make up their own rules. It's like some sort of silent language that they all (even the women) use to communicate with. The lack of rules on the roads forces the drivers to do this. Seeing this spectacular thing this past summer made me have a great deal of respect for the drivers.
There's a downside to this unique driving language, though. The downside is that some people might not recognize or be familiar with this language; and they contribute to most of the accidents and fights. Fights? Yes, fights. I'll tell you where a fight might generate from. So, let's say there's a driver who speaks the unique driving language, and then there's the other driver who isn't really familiar with it. The two meet at an intersection and there's some sort of confusion on who is to go first. Now, the guy who speaks the language decides to let the other guy go. The other guy, however doesn't understand that and remains waiting. This forces the "native" speaker to go; and behind this guy is another line of cars. So the guy who doesn't know the language is sitting there thinking it's all good and little does he know that there's a line of cars (full of native speakers) behind him waiting to fight him because now he made them all wait.
People in Cairo usually drive for their lives...
One thing I've noticed this year with the drivers in Egypt is that they are very skilled; despite the fact that there are many accidents. It takes a great deal of talent in order to drive within the roads that contain absolutely no rules. The drivers make up their own rules. It's like some sort of silent language that they all (even the women) use to communicate with. The lack of rules on the roads forces the drivers to do this. Seeing this spectacular thing this past summer made me have a great deal of respect for the drivers.
There's a downside to this unique driving language, though. The downside is that some people might not recognize or be familiar with this language; and they contribute to most of the accidents and fights. Fights? Yes, fights. I'll tell you where a fight might generate from. So, let's say there's a driver who speaks the unique driving language, and then there's the other driver who isn't really familiar with it. The two meet at an intersection and there's some sort of confusion on who is to go first. Now, the guy who speaks the language decides to let the other guy go. The other guy, however doesn't understand that and remains waiting. This forces the "native" speaker to go; and behind this guy is another line of cars. So the guy who doesn't know the language is sitting there thinking it's all good and little does he know that there's a line of cars (full of native speakers) behind him waiting to fight him because now he made them all wait.
People in Cairo usually drive for their lives...
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