11th
Papers and passports
Sunday 7th August 2011
I headed off to the government building, the ‘Mugamma’ in Tahrir Square and waited for the doors to open at 9am. It usually opens at 8am or 8.30 – but we are in Ramadan, so I joined the queues of people, who thankfully weren’t all heading for the visa section with me! The first ordeal is getting the photocopy of the passport and visa page – which takes nearly as much time as the whole visa extension process. But all went smoothly and I was told to return in two hours and collect my passport which I duly did and all was well. The major difference was in the appearance of Tahrir Square – when I was last there in March and April, it was very much free of police and with only minimal army presence, yet today, it was quite the opposite. Police guard the land where the protesters had been camping and there is a tank at the Tahrir end of Talaat Harb and a number of police vans parked along the next street. Many soldiers are sitting or standing around the square – and there are plenty of police trying to direct the traffic which is getting heavier and heavier – yet it is easier to cross the square as the cars are hardly moving …. not so good when you are trying to cross it in a taxi!
I had lunch with an old friend and colleague and then headed down to Giza to meet another friend to collect some equipment for our dig bags for the field school that will start at Quesna on 10th September! Another shock was a visit to Felfela at Giza, which was empty apart from us and one other table! The journey back was, again, via the Ring Road (the Da’eery) as the traffic on the Pyramids Street is virtually static at certain times of day!
Heading towards Tahrir Square.
