Culture Shock! Egypt - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

The Logistics of Settling In 165

Another thrill is heading into oncoming traffic when
you least expect it. If you are on a road and there is room
in oncoming traffic, your driver may dart into oncoming
traffic ‘lanes’. I say ‘lanes’ because some major streets
are actually divided. However, traffic lane markers and
stripes are not painted on many roads. When lane
markers are painted, it is usually on major motorways
or thoroughfares. Even on motorways, lane markers are
frequently ignored. There appears to be no such thing as
a ‘no-passing’ zone.
Just to give you a feel for some of the situations you
may encounter, I will relate a few of my own experiences.
When out on a motorway, my driver saw nothing coming
towards us, so took the oncoming traffic lanes to get around
slower vehicles. Also, my drivers have plunged headlong
onto crowded one-way streets in the opposite direction of
the traffic to shorten the journey. Little bumps between cars
are frequent and many of the vehicles you see in Egypt
have numerous dents. Since traffic is slow much of the
time, small bumps rarely cause major injury within Cairo
(unless, of course, a pedestrian or similarly unprotected
individual is struck). A basic tip is to expect anything—you
will probably experience it sometime during your stay. If
you are squeamish, definitely do not ride in the front seat
of a bus or car.

Caution

Unless you are accustomed to extremely aggressive driving

(neither the Los Angeles Freeway nor Houston traffi c constitutes

extremely aggressive driving to me), do not plan to drive in Egypt.

Until you get accustomed to driving habits, it is probably best for

you to use local taxis, buses or the Metro.

The principal branches of Egypt’s motorway network are:
„ Cairo to Alexandria (desert and Delta routes)
„ Cairo to Port Said and Ismailia
„ Cairo to Suez
„ Cairo to el-Fayum