More clothes than cars

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THE 26 JULY Street in downtown Cairo is busier than usual these days. As the end of Ramadan approaches, the clothes on display on the street are enticing families to buy new outfits for the Eid holidays. The poor economic situation of the country is also making cheap quality goods attractive to people who don't make that much money. But these huge open-air clothes markets, with their dozens of mobile racks, are also taking up three-quarters of the roads. Traffic is being forced bumper-to-bumper as cars squeeze through on just one lane. Hawkers touting their wares are taking advantage of a continued lax police presence. Vendor selling that would block traffic was once considered illegal. Apparently, not any longer.

photo: Sherif Sonbol