Busy life in Cairo metro

The stop for ladie's trin vagon

I have been wanting to the "metro" post for quite a while, I was just collecting little notes and memories over thew months. Is still hot here in Cairo, but as we are approaching October its beginning to cool down even here. A metro ride here is never boring, something always happens, in or outside the metro vagon, its busy and noisy and there are no traffic rules for people. Getting on a off the metro vagon on rush-hours is a life skill that foreigners need to learn fast not to be rushed by locals around you!

VENDORS
But when is happening inside the vagons is quite entertaining.
Usually in random stations vendorn aboard with huge carry-on bags offering their goods with loud voice and trying to move along the crowded vagon. For example small boys who sell chinese Sponge Bob stickers go around throwing a set of stickers on each person seated and then on their way back, collect all of them back, unless someone wants to buy it. And they do! Egyptian women are very keen on shopping in metro, imagine you are just sitting tight and stuff comes to you. Different stuff. Here is a  short list of the "normal goods" sold on vagons: whipes and tissuses, women underware shirts, gewing gum, stickers and colouring books, eye-liners and lipsticks, small fans, belts and plastic carrier bags etc.

BEGGARS
Sick people often enter the vagon to beg for money, the are crippled or just too poor to pay their medical bills. Sometimes they walk around with a doctor's analyses and recepies trying to prove the expensive treatment they have to go through. There are always generous people around who pass them a few pounds.

Women entering "ladies-only" vagon

PASSENGERS
The women in the metro come from all walks of life. They feel free and relaxed in the female vagon (ps. there is usually 3-4 vagons in the middle of the train for women only), if all the seats are taken, some of them sit on the ground or on window frames, that are big enough to almost fit half of one's bottom.
If the distance is long women use it for a snack time, many eating grilled corn or street hamburgers. Its always smelly and usually no air-conditioning.
During Ramadan every second woman in metro is reading Koran. They are very focused and more quiet.
What I love most about the Cairo metro is that people still offer seats for older or sick. I've seen it so many times and it really shows how helpful egyptians are. Also in extremly hot weather they can easily pass on their water bottles, not to leave anyone dehydrated. The rule then is to drink with pouring water into your mouth, not to toutch the bottle neck.
A few stops in an all-female vagon is a few minutes of freedom for Egyptian women, a safe area, they use this time to adjust their head scarfs or jeans or shirts. The women wearing niqab (a full face-veil, leaving only eyes visable) often lift up the veil for more air.
It can hapen that occasionally a few men will lurk around the all-female vagon. They can be someone's son, a teenager or a child. Children are considered "without a sex" here in Egypt. Meaning as soon as they became adults they are expected to follow the social rules of dressing and public behaviour or men/women, but before that the social sules of Egypt don't apply.
Sometimes a second before the door close a man jumps on-board, he is late and wants to catch the train, so the doors close behind them and they realize they are a single man in an exclusevly women vagon, they become shy and lower their gaze. Should he not do that, it means he didnt jump on accidentally, but wants the exceptional pleasure to be surrounded only by women. I usually give them the "deadly cairo look" (a very mean unwelcoming look)

TICKETS AND PHONES
A singel ticket costs 1 pound (0,1 EUR) and many egyptian women have a brilliant way of keeping their tickets around during the journey, they slide the ticket between their head and their headscarf, so it's handy to take out again when leaving the metro area. They also keep mobile phones like that druing a call, between their ear and the scarf, which leaves two hands free for any other activity. Quite smart don't you think!?