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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Books Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Better safe than sorry
ALTHOUGH the eclipse was only partial in Egypt, the lead-up was intense, and mostly concentrated on warnings not to go outdoors during the event.TV interrupted prime-time serials with warnings not to look directly at the sun. A text message scrolled constantly across the bottom of the screen, telling viewers to watch their children carefully between 1.00 and 4.00pm. Drivers as well as outdoor workers such as farmers were asked to be particularly careful. By Tuesday night, people were already worried. "I guess tomorrow the safest thing is to stay at home," said one taxi driver. "Those who are scared are those who are safest," he added.
People were taking the warnings seriously. Government employees around the country took the day off en masse, as did many in the private sector, though at the stock exchange it was business as usual.
A contractor in Al-Shurouq, a new suburb just outside Cairo, said he had made his crew toil on through Tuesday night and right into Wednesday morning on a job in order to be out of the sun before the eclipse began.
The airport issued a statement too. Flights would proceed as scheduled, but the Civil Aviation Authority was taking its precautions. Pilots were warned not to look directly at the sun. The same advice was given to employees at the radio control towers of airports across the country.
Hospitals had been put on alert in case of eye or other injuries suffered as a result of watching the eclipse. "All hospitals and especially ophthalmic hospitals will be put on alert to handle any accident during the eclipse," said the undersecretary of health, Mahmoud Abul-Nasr. Despite repeated warnings about using glasses to look at the sky, there were few if any regulation glasses on the market.
Because of the dearth, some people devised their own methods of viewing the eclipse. In villages across the country, farmers filled pails with water and stared at the sun's reflection to their heart's content.
