The Noises of Cairo

040808 – Noises of Cairo

Cairo is a noisy city, no matter how you look at it and Egyptians are noisy people, no matter how quiet they try to be! 

However, in the midst of all this noise is a true sense of community; of spirit; of life! I am sure the noises of Cairo have been well documented but let me share with you some of our observations: 

The Horn 

The 2 most essential items in any vehicle is a steering wheel and a horn! Without either the car won't go! You don't need many other items, although one has to admit that they come in handy! The horn is there to be used and to be used abundantly. If you sit and watch on the sidelines you will hear that the cars and vehicles are talking to one another! They are communicating to each other that they have seen you; that they are aware you are barging your way through the traffic; that you have seen them; or simply that they are there, alongside or behind you. There is a comfort or homeliness about the honks of the horns! Rarely do you hear the horns being sounded in anger or in frustration but of course this happens too! 

Gas Bottles 

Observing street-life on any given day or night will always reveal a vehicle of some sort carrying gas bottles! They can be in the form of a single bicycle; a 3-wheel bike; a donkey cart or a truck. In every instance will be the familiar noise emitting from it - that of a spanner being banged on the side of the bottle letting all and sundry know he is there! All that is required of you is to hang out from your window or balcony and yell down the street in your loudest voice that you want what he is offering! He will take care of the rest! Mind you, one has to be alert coz it has been known to happen, on more than one occasion, that the little man will swap your empty cylinder with another empty cylinder. The unsuspecting will not realise it until much later and the little man has long gone...

Donkey's Bray 

This is one of my favourite sounds of Cairo - the sound of the donkey! I love donkeys and all they represent! I love to hear them braying, although at the same time, my heart goes out to them and I ask them in the quiet and deep recesses of myself, what is it that you yearn for? The answers are ten-fold! 

The Railway Horn 

There is a railway line that runs through the centre of Maadi- no! Not the Metro-line but a railway line! Painstaking observation and documentation reveals little of what the line is actually used for. Trains slowly make their way along it more than 6 times every day but from where do they come and to where are they going? No-one seems to know! The trains are often run-down locomotives hauling behind them a myriad of carriages and bogies. There is never anyone in the carriages and often the bogies are just as empty. However, just when you think that they NEVER carry anything or anyone, observed can be a bogie with 2 tractors atop and someone sitting on the tractors. Strange!!! Another time might reveal some old trucks or Army vehicles but often as not, the bogies and carriages remain mysteriously empty! The only reason that we even know the line is there and the frequency of their travels is that throughout the length of the Maadi line, the train driver sits on his horn! And, what a horn it is! Although a conversation with someone who actually lives within sight and immediate sound of the train has shared that each train has a distinctive horn and they, as a family, have named the various engines, according to their horns! Although Albert & I do not live "on the line" we can still hear the horn at most times day and night! In fact, as I write this, another train has come and gone! 

Voices and Laughter 

As mentioned in the pre-amble, Egyptians have no concept of "quiet"! They have no idea whatsoever of how far voices and laughter are carried! They also have no concept of being mindful of other people's quiet-space! You can sit on your balcony at any time of day or night and be entertained, or annoyed, by the sounds of voices and laughter. Even through till 3 o'clock or 4o'clock in the morning! Once the night-owls have turned in for the night, the next shift are waking up, ready for a new start; for new experiences; and for new relationships and conversations with both friend and foe. The sounds of voices and laughter seem never to stop!