As in many Arab cities, a conversation with a taxi driver in Cairo – or sometimes simply a ride in one – takes the pulse of the place. On my first night in the city, I jump in a shaky white cab that is passing my hotel and we enter the tentacular traffic of the Nile Corniche. After examining me in his rear-view mirror for a bit, the taxi driver engages me in a conversation that very quickly drifts from pleasantries (where I am from, what I am doing in Cairo) to his life, his job, then the traffic, then the people. “I don’t know why everyone is always running here. The country is not in its best state, but oddly enough tourists are back and things are working without us knowing how.”
与许多阿拉伯城市一样，在开罗与出租车司机交谈（有时仅仅是乘坐出租车）就能了解这个地方的脉搏。在我来到这个城市的第一个晚上，我跳上一辆经过我的酒店的白色出租车，我们进入尼罗河沿岸的交通。出租车司机从他的后视镜中观察了我一会儿后，与我进行了交谈，很快从寒暄（我来自哪里，我在开罗做什么）到他的生活、工作，然后是交通，然后是人。“我不知道为什么每个人都在这里跑。这个国家并不处于最佳状态，但奇怪的是，游客回来了，事情在我们不知道的情况下也在运作。”