Cairo - The City

The city of Cairo has a population of more than 17 million. Over 20% of the country lives in this area of the Nile delta. This leads to a very interesting traffic situation. There are lots of traffic lights and one way street signs scattered around the city. They are all purely decorative.
The real traffic control is done the old fashioned way by having underpaid policemen stand at the intersection. These guys are actually really useful when there is a traffic jam because they have the authority to make the cars take turns and play nice. The streets are shared by cars, taxis, trucks, delivery boys on motorcycles, and donkey carts.

No vehicle is intended to carry only one person - that would be a waste of resources. Motorcycles and even mopeds will often carry as many as 3 adult men, or as in this picture, a whole family.

The Nile which divides the city into Giza and Cairo runs in the middle of everything. Along its banks are large fancy western hotels and green parks. Throughout the city you can find a mixture of magnificent old mosques, shiny western high-rise, and dingy unfinished apartment buildings.

ATM's can be found in random walls of varied buildings. (But, they are usually empty.)

During the day, everything is dusty and polluted. Cairo holds the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in the world. At night, however, everything looks better. The dust is hidden in a uniform blackness, and the profusion of lights makes the city look as well off as anywhere else.