Crisis in Egypt: Normalcy Returning to Cairo Streets?
Protests continue, but many people are starting to get back to their lives.
CAIRO, Egypt, Feb. 6, 2011— -- There are subtle, but clear signs of a return to normalcy on the streets of Cairo today. It is too early, far too early, to declare that the chaos and rage of the past 12 days has come to an end, but there is a different feeling in the air today.
In the upscale neighborhood of Zamalek, joggers were back on the streets and cafes were packed with young, shisha-smoking Egyptians, the tables of the local Coffee Bean full.
People lined up around the corner at the branches of state banks in Zamalek, many of them civil servants, waiting to collect a paycheck for the first time in several days.
"Hopefully they'll get what they want and we can move on with our lives," said Yousro, a university student who was waiting outside a bank. "I want a better Egypt and my life along with it."
"We were eager to film scenes of a return to normalcy but the hostility towards the press is still there, both the crowd and the police told us to get back in the car," said ABC News Middle East Correspondent Alex Marquardt. "But there's no doubt there's a different vibe in the streets today."
We were sent away before we even made it off the sidewalk outside a bank. Police are back on the streets. They insisted we show a state-issued media accreditation before we conducted interviews.
Even if we'd had one, people were in no mood to talk. One man started ranting about the press ruining this country.
It seems people are very protective and have tired of reporters trying to define what's happening here.
In Tahir Square this morning, where just days ago, pro-government forces rode in on camels to quash the protests, there was a much different feeling.
"It had been a few days since I'd visited and in that time a mini village has sprung up; tents, vendors, church services," Marquardt said. "People were milling around, chanting and dancing. It felt a lot like a music festival, and like a festival there aren't enough bathrooms.
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