- Title: EGYPT: Cairo celebrates Valentine's Day and Prophet's birthday
- Date: 15th February 2011
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (FEBRUARY 14, 2011) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) CARS DRIVING THROUGH TALAT HARB SQUARE IN DOWNTOWN CAIRO CARS WOMEN LOOKING IN SHOP WINDOW PEOPLE SITTING IN OUTDOOR CAFÉ SHOP SELLING VALENTINE'S GIFTS CLOSE ON RED VALENTINE'S BEARS SIGN POSTED AT SHOP THAT READS: "Valentine's Day, the first real Valentine's Day after the Revolution, Love to All Egyptians, Long Live Egypt." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF SHOP SELLING VALENTINE'S GIFTS, ADEL MANSOURI, SAYING: "We are celebrating both (Valentine's and the Prophets birthday) because of the revolution, and God has blessed us and our suffering is gone. And God will be generous to us, I hope, so the people can be happy." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING IN WINDOW OF SWEETS SHOP SWEETS IN WINDOW PEOPLE AT COUNTER IN SWEETS SHOP WORKER IN SHOP PUTTING SWEETS IN BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAN SHOPPING FOR SWEETS, ADEL ABDEL ZAR, SAYING: "Before (the revolution), no one felt anything at all, we'd go out to the downtown area. Shops like this, for example were producing products, but… and homes were wrecked in for some people, for some of the time. There was no buying or selling. People were tired, shop owners, workers…" SHOP WORKER PUTTING BOXED SWEETS IN BAG FOR CUSTOMER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAN WHO WORKS IN SWEETS SHOP, MOHAMED SAMI, SAYING: "The situation is much better. For the last three days we feel like things are moving, we feel like we're going into the season, there's movement in sales. People are coming in to buy. Unlike the last 17 days when there was no buying at all and things were totally shut down." MAN SELLING EGYPT FLAG MEMORIAL BADGES BADGES PEOPLE SHOPPING ON STREET
- Embargoed: 2nd March 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt, Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Domestic Politics,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAH8PZVKEVL2UL05NTSPZRBHQI
- Story Text: Gridlock was seen once again on Cairo's city streets on Monday (February 14).
The traffic jams long synonymous with the city all but disappeared during the revolution that brought life to a virtual standstill for the last three weeks.
But on Monday traffic flowed through Talat Harb square, once a battleground between anti-government protesters and pro Hosni Mubarak supporters, as Egyptians enjoy simple pleasures like going shopping in downtown Cairo.
With Valentine's day in full swing, even the shops selling oversized stuffed bears and fluffy hearts are giving credit to the revolution that toppled Mubarak for the return of the festive spirit.
"We are celebrating both (Valentine's and the Prophet's birthday) because of the revolution, and God has blessed us and our suffering is gone. And God will be generous to us, I hope, so the people can be happy," says shop owner Adel Mansouri.
For weeks the streets around Tahrir square have been all but deserted as tens of thousands of demonstrators took up residence there to press for the ousting of long-time President Mubarak.
Three days after Mubarak stepped down Egyptians were in a celebratory mood, and many of the country's Muslims spent the evening shopping for sweets to celebrate the Prophet Mohammad's birthday on Tuesday (February 15).
As he shopped for sweets, Adel Abdel Zar said that after the revolution people were able to truly celebrate for the first time in recent memory.
"Before, no one felt anything at all, we'd go out to the downtown area. Shops like this, for example were producing products, but… and homes were wrecked in for some people, for some of the time. There was no buying or selling. People were tired, shop owners, workers…" he said.
For store workers like Mohamed Sami, the victory of the revolution has brought a welcome return of shoppers.
"The situation is much better. For the last three days we feel like things are moving, we feel like we're going into the season, there's movement in sales. People are coming in to buy. Unlike the last seventeen days when there was no buying at all and things were totally shut down," he said.
After weeks of curfew, political drama and clashes in the streets, Cairo looked a little bit more like itself on Monday. Its streets were once again bustling as Egyptians ventured out into what many described as something of a post-revolution euphoria. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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