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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 September 1999 Issue No. 445
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters A place to park
By Fayza Hassan
Driving to work every day is an ordeal, which becomes considerably more difficult almost by the day, but it still compares favourably with the problem of parking on arrival.
Our parking spot is located in a small square, or narrow street -- depending on whether or not cars are double parked on both sides -- bordered by a number of official buildings and an imposing church.
At night, when everyone has gone home, the area is almost deserted and the fragrance of wild jasmine fills the air; during the day, however, it looks and sounds like the antechamber to hell, with cars literally forcing their way through the traffic. I have always been mesmerised by the lack of vision of drivers who will invariably insert their vehicle in the very space their opponents must use to manoeuvre themselves out of the way. Thus gridlocked, the occupants of the northbound cars descend upon their southbound counterparts, and a war ensues during which vigorous insults are exchanged but nothing else achieved, least of all a remedy to the situation at hand.
The particular parking area for which I aim every morning is ruled over by Adel and his brother Tarek, two enterprising young men who are experts in creating space where there is none. Moreover, they specialise in the logistics of our own brand of traffic problems, which have more to do with driver psychology than urban planning. They would put many political negotiators to shame in their skillful shuttle diplomacy, cajoling one party, exhorting another, offering to drive an offending car out of the way and promising safe passage to the less aggressive combatants. Inevitable bumps and scratches incurred during the difficult process of slipping a large vehicle into a space half its size are treated by the two brothers with the same civility, the gist of their argument, which they deliver ever so pleasantly, being that the accident is the will of God and that they always work very hard to please him. What more could they do? If they feel a need to apologise, they do so with dignity and are always prepared to give the address of a good mechanic or body repairman, convincingly alleging that the damage is small compared to what they have recently witnessed. Just the other day, they will tell you, a woman came out of one of the administrative buildings to find her car completely crushed. She did not complain, because she was a pious woman and understood it was God's will. They towed her car in the afternoon and that was that.
Meanwhile, the two brothers are doing a brisk business charging their clients according to their means. Evidently, they favour those who pay more, although they claim that in their eyes all men are equal. The speed at which they move an obstructing car and locate a parking spot for certain clients, however, gives away their secret rating.
Leaving the car key to Adel or Tarek is a sign of trust, and they are always a little resentful of those who insist on locking their vehicles. One of my colleagues once complained that Adel had used her car to collect his children from school. Confronted, he was deeply pained by the accusation and showed her his taxi, of which he is extremely proud. "I don't need anyone's car," he said angrily, "I have my own." This is how I found out that, after his day's work, Adel drives a taxi well into the wee hours of the morning. He has many children, he says, and wants them all well educated.
As the years went by, I came to know Adel better and discovered that the woman who kept the little kiosk near the church was his wife. She sells miscellaneous small commodities to the government employees and policemen who seem to be invariably standing between the cars as if they, too, were waiting to be parked by Adel. She also keeps geese and chicken and sometimes a couple of goats who suddenly decide to cross the street -- several times a day -- preferably at the busiest moments, adding to the general pandemonium.
Recently, while the Court of Justice was being renovated, space was really at a premium in Adel's kingdom. This is when he decided that a truce was in order with his archenemy Saber, the other car attendant, whose own space was free of trucks and cranes. During that time, Adel shared his tips equally with Saber. When the building work was completed, however, he could not wait to pick a fight with his transient associate. When I inquired about the break in the relationship, Adel said simply: "I had to do it, otherwise he would have continued to live under the misconception that I now have to share all my tips with him. I cannot afford him. I have my own family to think of."
