Mood Swings:
Cairo vs New York
Anyone who has been to New York will tell you that the "Big Apple" is like no other American city. And it isn't. No other city in the United States offers the ethnic and cultural diversity that New York offers. No other city has more things to do. Be it parks, museums, nightclubs, historic landmarks, restaurants, or bistros. You name it and New York City most likely has it.
If you walk down Mulberry Street, the heart of Little Italy, you get the feel, smell, look and taste of everything Italian. You can almost picture Little Italy at the turn of the 19th century when Italian immigration reached its peak.
If you cannot afford a trip to the real China, then spending time in bustling Chinatown offers you a sampling of every type of Chinese cuisine, traditional herbal shops, acupuncturists and stores selling everything from silk robes to jewellery and Chinese cookware. The smells of the herbs mingle with the smell of raw fish and the scene of elderly Chinese men sitting in small parks and playing chess.
Another New York landmark is the Lower East Side, once the world's largest Jewish community. Here you see Hasidic Jews in their black gowns and find the greatest Jewish delis where you can eat the best pastrami sandwich in the world.
Art lovers can find a haven in SoHo, where artists and sculptors live in warehouses that have been converted into spacious lofts. Nearly 250 art galleries, four museums and about 200 restaurants make the quarter square mile of SoHo a place bustling with activity.
In his classic song "New York, New York", Frank Sinatra sang the praises of the "the city that never sleeps". He was right. New York never sleeps.
But in another corner of the world, there is another city that does not sleep. If someone were to write the words to a "Cairo, Cairo" song, then "the city that comes to life after sundown", would be one way to sing the praises of the "city victorious". For Cairo of the daytime seems to transform into a completely different state of mind at night. Once the glare of the sun bids the city its daily farewell, Cairenes shake away any signs of heat-induced fatigue and ready themselves for whatever the night has to offer.
Rickety small boats with colourful lights and loud music cruise up and down the Nile. Passengers sedated by the night breeze dance the night away. Lovers hold hands as they stroll along the Corniche. The reflection of the moon swaying leaves them feeling intoxicated as they weave the web of their romantic dreams. A variety of bars, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs make a night on the town never dull. Museums, art galleries, cinemas, theatres and the Opera House always offer something that can rejuvenate even the most aching soul.
Many could argue, and perhaps rightly so, that Cairo does not offer half of what New York does. Others could argue that services in New York far outshine services in Cairo. But with all the improvements that one could wish for in the largest city in Africa and the Middle East, there is no denying that this city not only has charm and magic, but also its own way of doing things.
It is in Cairo, and not New York, that you can get anything delivered right to your door. It is here that you have a bawab (doorman) to run your errands, pay your bills and make you feel like he is taking care of you better than your own mother ever did. And it is in Cairo and not New York that a woman could walk alone in the street after midnight and not fear for her life.
It would undoubtedly be nice if Cairenes, like New Yorkers, could have more parks, more greenery, less dusty streets, and air-conditioned buses and cabs. It would be nice if women here could jog in the streets and ride bikes. It would equally be nice if Cairenes, like New Yorkers, could get relatively cheap laptops, less expensive cable connections to the Internet and order clothes, CDs and books online.
But would it not be equally wonderful if New York could be as safe as Cairo? Would it not be great if New Yorkers were friendlier and more welcoming? Somehow the rampant poverty in Cairo has not hardened people. This is so easy to observe on the city streets. Cairenes, especially after sundown, seem to always be in good humour. Watch them and see how poverty does not stop them from enjoying life. My heart especially lightens when I see a man on a motorcycle, with his wife and kid holding on tight in the back, and another kid dangling her feet from the side. Then there are the giggly young girls going on a buggy ride, shyly averting their eyes when stared at by passersby. And families who cruise the city streets with lots of kids in the backseat, stopping for rice pudding or ice cream at one of the countless places that serve it to you while you sit in your car.
While a lot could be said in favour of New York, there is something immensely appealing about the ability of Cairenes to remain unhardened by all that does not function properly in their everyday lives.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 28 August - 3 September 2003 (Issue No. 653)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/653/li2.htm