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.”
與許多阿拉伯城市一樣，在開羅與出租車司機(jī)交談（有時僅僅是乘坐出租車）就能了解這個地方的脈搏。在我來到這個城市的第一個晚上，我跳上一輛經(jīng)過我的酒店的白色出租車，我們進(jìn)入尼羅河沿岸的交通。出租車司機(jī)從他的后視鏡中觀察了我一會兒后，與我進(jìn)行了交談，很快從寒暄（我來自哪里，我在開羅做什么）到他的生活、工作，然后是交通，然后是人。“我不知道為什么每個人都在這里跑。這個國家并不處于最佳狀態(tài)，但奇怪的是，游客回來了，事情在我們不知道的情況下也在運(yùn)作。”