2011: A Review

     Well, it's not likely to be a year anyone will forget. All around the world events, whether natural or man-made have affected the lives of millions. In fact, billions is probably more accurate as in 2011 the world population hit 7,000,000,000 that's BILLION.

       Let's go back to the beginning shall we. 2011 started with a bomb attack on 2 churches in Alexandria during New Year services, shocking Egyptians and laying the groundwork for what was to begin a mere 24 days later. The desperate actions of a single man in a small city in Tunisia became the spark that was needed to make millions in the Arab world shake off decades of apathy and stand up to their leaders. How this will all pan out is yet to be seen, but I'm so glad that I'm here to see it instead of reading about it in a history book. For better or worse I can tell my children and grandchildren (presuming I ever have any) all about it. 

      The economic crisis focused on Europe and spread. The Occupy movement started with Occupy Wall Street and expanded to include cities and economic landmarks around the world.

       The UK in general and London in particular made international headlines twice in 2011, the first time in April for the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and then again in August because of the riots which swept from London to include several major UK cities. The riots surprised and horrified some, while others seemed surprised that they hadn't happened before. Either way, everyone agreed that the grief of one man certainly helped bring them to an end. Tariq Jahan lost his son Haroon during the riots in Birmingham, Haroon and two others (brothers) were killed in a hit and run in what appeared to be an anti-Muslim crime by members of an Afro-Caribbean gang. Jahan had tried desperately to revive his son himself. This is what he had to say; "I lost my son. Blacks, Asians, Whites - we all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another? Why are we doing this? Step forward if you want to lose your sons. Otherwise, calm down and go home - please."

   Osama Bin Laden was killed a decade after the 9/11 attacks. US forces pulled out of Iraq.

    Natural disasters included earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. The Japanese earthquake in March was followed by a devastating tsunami. The most dangerous and worrying effect of which was the meltdown it caused at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The area is still contaminated and people have yet to be allowed to return after they were evacuated.

    There were floods in Asia and droughts in Africa. Again.

     2011 started with several dictators in place: Ben Ali (Tunisia), Mubarak (Egypt), Gaddafi (Libya), Saleh (Yemen), Kim Jung Il (N.Korea) and Mugabe (Zimbabwe). With 2 days till 2012, Mugabe is the only one left in power.

     On a personal note, I finished my Masters degree in education (woohoo me!) and started teaching full time and I voted in my first ever elections. My love life has remained uneventful, which considering everything that's been going on, is a relief. There was no time for romance during a revolution!

      What does 2012 have in store for us? The Olympics in London, Presidential elections in Egypt and the USA and if the Mayans are to be believed; the end of the world. Whatever's coming, it will be memorable!

Egyptian Elections 2011

     Today was the first day of voting for Egypt's Lower House of Parliament (Magles El Shaab مجلس الشعب) or The People's Assembly. As with almost everything political in Egypt this year, it was new and different. For a start, there were new names to vote for! Gone were the names of those who had dominated the parliament (and country) for decades and they were replaced by countless others. With all these new faces came new symbols (due to the low literacy rate in Egypt, each candidate and party is given a symbol so that illiterate voters know who to choose). I remember the only signs I would see around my neighbourhood were the camel and the crescent, both used by the National Democratic *snort* Party candidates. This time there was a veritable cornucopia of candidates to choose from (130 on my ballot paper) and their symbols ranged from the bizarre to the ridiculous (cookers, food mixer, tank, knife, shirt, carpet, chair, bouquet of flowers, gold ingot, water heater, bus, school bus, tram, train, basketball, basketball net and so on).

The main roundabout near my house becomes an election campaign hub

Some of the candidates' banners

There's a lovely fountain hidden behind all those banners

    Of course, this being Egypt, nothing is as simple as it first appears. Under former President Nasser an addition was made to the constitution stating that 50% of the Lower House should be composed of workers and farmers. A later amendment set the minimum % of women who must be MPs. This means that voting is not as straightforward as placing a check mark next to your preferred candidate's name. 

   

    Once in the polling station, you're given 2 papers; one to vote for the party and one for the individual candidates. Of the individual candidates you must choose 2, one of whom must be a worker. These individual candidates may be running as a member of a political party or as independents. Confused yet?

   My day began at 8:30 when I left home to head towards my polling station (polling stations were assigned according to your national ID number and so my parents and I were each at different stations despite sharing an address). I had no idea where the school serving as my polling station was, but I was lucky enough to meet up with 3 young ladies from my neighbourhood who were at the same one, and despite none of us knowing where we were going, we set off together. We found our school in a middle/working class area of Cairo called El-Zaitoun which is fairly conservative, it also has a large Coptic population which meant the queue was a mix of people voting for the Freedom and Justice Party (the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood), a minority voting for the ultra-conservative Islamist El-Nour party and Christians who, like me, were voting for the more liberal or secular candidates.

   The queue was long, and seeing it was amazing as Egyptians are not famous for their patience or queue formation! It snaked around the block in a U shape and was twice as long when I left as it had been when I joined.

The queue in front of me. At this point we'd been in line for an hour and still had to turn the corner before we could even see the school gates.

Part of the queue (about halfway along) when I was leaving.

 We were all chatting, but none of us ever really discussed who we were voting for, we were just pleased that we were voting. There were a few people passing out flyers as we waited, despite this being against election rules which state that all campaigning had to have ceased 48 hours before the vote.  The actual voting only took a couple of minutes, as I knew exactly who I was voting for. So after a 3 hour wait, weeks of reading up on parties I made my 3 check marks, signed the register, dipped my thumb in the fluorescent ink and was done! I had voted for the first time!!

    Of course, none of this was imaginable a year ago and if people had not taken to the streets and squares in January, we would have "voted" for a new President next September only to have Gamal Mubarak win with 90% majority. There are  many who think this parliament will be a useless entity, there purely for show until the constitution has been reviewed and a President elected next year. They also say it may not even last beyond a couple of months. Whatever happens, for better or worse, Egyptians went to bed today feeling, for the first time, that they made a difference. So for that alone, I say, to everyone who protested, was injured and especially to those who gave their lives; "Thank You"

9/11

    On this day 10 years ago, I was on my way to an O-level Maths class on a Tuesday afternoon . When I left the house, everything was as it ever was, by the time I'd got to school (about 15 minutes away) the first tower of the World Trade Center had been hit. We were herded up to class, not thinking too much about it, it was a tragic accident after all, what else could it be?

    After setting us problems on the board, our teacher stepped out of the class and went downstairs to check the news on the television the school gatekeeper had been watching when we arrived. I remember the stunned look on his face when he came back, 'Remember that plane in New York? It seems it wasn't an accident, another plane hit the second tower and one hit the Pentagon.' I remember how quiet we all went until one girl said that her brother was in Washington and another remembered that one of the biology teachers had mentioned her brother was travelling to New York at some point.

    As Arab teenagers that day, we knew things were never going to be the same again. If we had faced problems getting visas or when travelling before, we knew it would be 10 times as bad now. And it was. It still is sometimes. We still find ourselves apologizing for the actions of 19 men to whom we never gave the right to speak in our names. We explain that no, not all Arabs and Muslims want to kill Americans and bring down Western civilization.

   3000+ people died senselessly  that day, tens of thousands of other in the wars and attacks on civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq and a whole faith and it's followers have become hated (by some) and feared. Al-Qaeda claimed to have carried out these attacks in the name of Islam and God and yet it made life for Muslims (and people who look 'Middle Eastern') difficult and downright dangerous.

   So who gained anything that day?


PS: I have absolutely no recollection of what we were doing in Maths class that day!

Here (Doesn't) Come The Bride

    *steps onto soapbox and clears throat*
   
     The other week I took my father to the hospital for his check-up. While there, we met my uncle who has a clinic in the same hospital. After the usual greetings and niceties, my uncle asked me what my brother was up to now and I proudly told him that he was off to London to do his Msc.at The London School of Economics in Human Rights. The next thing my uncle asks is whether or not I have any marriage plans in the near future "mafeesh 3rees wala eh?"

     Now I am well aware of how things are in Egypt, I grew up here after all. I know damn well that as soon as a girl hits puberty she is called '3roosa' or bride-this does NOT mean that Egyptians or Arabs in general condone child marriages, just that it is the beginning of what I see as brainwashing of young girls that they will grow up to be wives no matter what. 90% of the time this will come from a female relative and is always meant as a compliment. When I started university I remember an aunt telling me to make sure I didn't graduate without having "caught someone.". Well, I did catch someone, the wrong one as it turned out; but that's OK as far as I'm concerned because we didn't get married, there was no ugly divorce and no one got hurt but us.

    I don't feel I need to be married or in a relationship right now to feel 'successful' or 'complete', I wasn't raised that way. My parents' focus was always education, education, education not matrimony. So while there is a Tiffany&Co. ring that I think is gorgeous, I'm not bothered that I don't have one (and having seen the price tag, I'll probably never have one!). My point is this, I am more than just someone's future wife, I have a brain and I use it. I have opinions and I say them and I will argue to defend them. I don't want a 'protector and provider' I want a partner.

   I am not against marriage but it is not my sole goal in life I have other ambitions and I have no problems waiting for love, marriage and the baby carriage. I'm not rushing to meet men and when I do, I don't judge against a romantic ideal or a check-list (I tried writing one of those once, I struggled to get past 10 items).

   If I met the right man tomorrow and fell head over heels in love, then yes, I would want to marry him; not to feel like I've succeeded in some great game but because I would want to build a life with someone who will treat me as an equal.

*steps off soapbox*

Mubarak in the Dock

    Today, August 3rd 2011 was the day deposed President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak finally had his day in court. After delays, and all the reports about the state of his health--"He's got terminal cancer." "No, he hasn't." "He's in a coma!", "No, he isn't."---Egyptians finally got what we wanted; Mubarak (and sons) in their white overalls in the accused's cage. And in an ironic twist of fate it was in the same hall (at the Police Academy) that Mubarak gave his last speech before the start of the January 25 protests which lead to his eventual downfall.

   Today was merely the opening session in the trial of Mubarak, his sons Alaa and (President in waiting) Gamal and former Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly (one of the slimiest human beings on the planet IMO). As such the lawyers of the defendants and the prosecution were presenting their arguments and demands for the trial. This was, unfortunately but not surprisingly, chaotic with only one microphone that had to be passed around amongst all the lawyers (there we several there representing the families of the martyrs in various areas of Egypt in civil suits against the deposed and the former MOI head.) which lead to the judge having to discipline the courtroom much as a teacher disciplines a classroom.

    Suzanne Mubarak was conspicuous by her absence today as were the wives of Alaa and Gamal. Suzanne is also facing charges relating to illegal profiteering during her husband's 30 year rule.

   It wasn't until after the first adjournment that the Mubarak and his sons were charged and called upon to state their pleas. Unsurprisingly all three pleaded 'not guilty.'. The charges against them included; ordering the shooting of protesters (could lead to the death penalty), selling Egypt's natural gas to Israel at greatly reduced prices (thus harming the economy). 

Highlights:

• Seeing them in the cage! For non-Egyptian readers; this is normal procedure in Egyptian courts as it is in Russia I believe.
• Mubarak picking his nose. 
• Gamal and Alaa standing in front of Mubarak's stretcher in an attempt to hide him from the cameras. Didn't work.
• The judge asking the lawyers if they had their demands written down or were going to waste time trying to remember them.
• The public prosecutor listing the charges against Mubarak, Alaa and Gamal.
• Hearing Mubarak say ' Ya Fandem' meaning 'yes sir.' to the judge to show he is present. He probably hasn't said that in 30 years!
• The one conspiracy-theorist lawyer who demanded DNA tests on Mubarak to prove it's really him and that he didn't die in 2004.
• THAT IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!! There's no denying that this is a historical day in Egyptian and Arab history. An Arab leader has never before been tried after being deposed by their own people. It was unthinkable a mere 7 months ago and right up until Mubarak was actually wheeled in, most people thought we would never seem him stand trial. 

      After a second adjournment the judge declared that Habib El-Adly would be tried separately for his role in the deaths of protesters and would resume tomorrow (it has already been postponed 3 times, although he has been found guilty of money laundering and profiteering). The Mubaraks' trial will be resumed on the 15th of August 2011 with Alaa and Gamal returning to Torah Prison where they have been held since February and Hosni Mubarak will be held in a military hospital on the Cairo-Ismaliia desert road. 

What's in a name?

     The other week as I was booking my flight to the UK, I told the lady at the travel agents my name and then spelled it out for her. As we were waiting for the ticket and receipt to be printed she asked me whether my name was Nora or Noora as I had pronounced it Noora (I was speaking Arabic at the time) but spelled it Nora. This lead to me explaining that it's the way it's spelt on my birth certificate and it's easier for non-Arabic speakers to pronounce that way.

     I love the fact that my name sounds completely different, but still correct, depending on who's saying it. It's like I have two names that are both me; Nora has both Greek and English origins, the former means Light while the latter is honour. Noura (نورا)-of Arabic origin- is a derivative of Nour (which was my grandmother's name) which means light.


   So that's me, Nora, Noora, Noura, Norah, however you say it I'll answer!

Revolution 2.0

     This Friday (July 8th) Egyptians around the country returned to major squares to reapply pressure on the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) to ensure demands are met. These protests have been called for for a while but escalated following the release in Suez of 14 police officers accused of killing protesters during the 18 days of revolution in January and February. People in the city famous for the Canal have been protesting for most of last week after this court decision and this greatly helped raise the enthusiasm around the country to protest on Friday. 

     The atmosphere in Tahrir Sq. was great, a cross between a carnival, rock festival and in some parts a slightly more angry and grieving crowd. The demands were, as always, posted around the square on banners and placards carried by people.

   The demands vary according to political affiliations but there are those that are common across the board;

• The swift and public prosecution of members of the former regime, most prominently former President Mubarak and former Interior Minister Habib El-Adly (the former's trial is -tentatively- set for August 3rd while the latter has had his trial into the deaths of protesters 3 times so far). 
• Lifting of the emergency law. 
• No military trials for civilians, and the immediate release of those already detained and convicted.
• SCAF handing over power to a civilian panel to hold power till elections are held.

    The sit in is planned to continue until these demands are met. Hopefully it will continue peacefully and not be broken up by security forces in the middle of the night.

Total Eclipse of The Moon

  On Wednesday night Egypt experienced the first total lunar eclipse of the 21st century. The full moon had been the night before and was brilliantly bright in the night sky. I would have loved to have gone on a trip out to the desert to have a view unaffected by Cairo lights and pollution. As it was, I am still taking a Master's course and actually had a class that night so the starlight eclipse viewing was out of the question unfortunately.

   Luckily, our professor- one very cool lady btw- was as excited as we were about it so we went down to the field to have a look at around 8pm, but at the time nothing had happened yet.

Yes I know it's sideways!

     After checking up on Twitter for more details, we realised that nothing was expected to happen till about 8:22 pm and since we have a presentation to prepare and a paper to research for and write up we all traipsed back upstairs. Class was let out early so that we could watch the eclipse begin.

  

   The shadow started to appear over the bottom left of the moon and then spread out across the rest. 

 

    

The Beauty of Egypt

   My friend Tarek created this absolutely stunning video that shows off the beauty in Egypt ( a couple of the shots are mine too!).

Have a  look and let it inspire you to visit, it's a brand new and ancient land all in one!

  

Sharm El-Sheikh and Sham El Nessim

    Recently the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In 2010 there were a series of shark attacks that killed several people and since he was deposed in February 2011, former President Mubarak has taken up permanent residence in the city. Despite all this and the drop in visitor numbers since the Revolution, it is still a popular destination for tourists, especially those looking to combine sun, sea and sand and stunning natural beauty with an active nightlife. The waters of the Red Sea are ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving.

   Sham el-nessiem is an Egyptian national holiday and is a uniquely Egyptian way to welcome spring. It translates literally into "smelling the breeze"  and dates back to Pharaonic times. These days it falls on (Coptic) Easter Monday and is celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of religion. It is celebrated, as most festivals in Egypt are, with food; in this case, coloured boiled eggs, green onions and salted fish (ringa and fessekh). These are usually eaten as part of a picnic as most families head off somewhere green. I remember when my cousins and I were young, we would all head off to the family orange grove and the smell of orange blossom still brings those memories back.

  This year a friend and I headed off to Sharm El-Sheikh for the long weekend and I have to say, it was one of the best ideas we'd had for a while! She was able to get us a good deal via her workplace so we were staying in a lovely 5 star resort at a fraction of the cost. The hotel was nice, the room large enough for the 2 of us not to constantly be in each other's hair and the view from the balcony was lovely

View from our room.

The other advantage this hotel had to the one I stayed at two years ago was that the beach was right within the resort. A three minute walk (through the pool area and garden) lead you to a walkway from which you had a glorious view of the red sea.

First view of the Red Sea

   While I would have been perfectly happy to spend all 4 days on the beach, snorkeling, reading and soaking up the sun, my friend had other ideas. She insisted that she wanted to climb Mount Sinai and visit St. Catherine's monastery. I was slightly less than enthusiastic as I had done this on my last visit and it was exhausting, freezing and took up a whole day. However, remembering just how tiring it was I felt I couldn't leave her to do it alone so we booked 2 places on a trip leaving the night we arrived. Unfortunately, the trip was poorly organized and our guide was rude, badly spoken and aggressive, but enough of that story now! On the bus journey to the mountain the air-con was on full blast and that was just enough to bring the cold I'd been keeping at bay all week to full strength. By the time we started the hike, my nose was completely stuffed and breathing and hiking at the same time was becoming problematic (I've discovered I like breathing...it helps keep me alive), so in the end I only made it as far as the first rest-stop on foot and then carried on on a camel!

Me on the camel watching the sunrise over Mount Sinai

    My camel pilot Saleh (a Bedouin native to Sinai) and I had a good chat as we made the trek up, he's been doing the job for about 3 years and that on a good day he can hire his camel about 4 times in either direction. The best tourists in his opinion are Indonesians as they nearly always opt for a camel ride up , while Russians are far less likely. I asked him how the revolution had affected business and he told me that they've definitely had fewer people this year but the numbers were starting to pick up again. 

  The view of the sunrise was as stunning as I remember and I'll let the pictures do the talking.

  In the end we weren't able to go around the monastery as the monks had decided to close to visitors in preparation for Easter services, but we did manage to use the facilities there and I snapped a picture of the door to the main church decked out for the occasion.

    Back at the hotel I took some paracetamol and slept for 12 hours straight! Luckily I got my wish and was able to spend the next 2 days on the beach.

First Taste of Democracy!

   Today Egyptians took to the polls to vote in  the referendum on the proposed amendments to the constitution (for more details please see my post HERE).

   I'm 26 years old and I voted for the first time today. Even though I've been eligible to vote in Egypt since I was 18 there never seemed to be any point before, the results were a forgone conclusion; Mubarak's National 'Democratic' Party would win. In some cases even dead people would manage to vote!

  My brother and I were at our local polling station by 8:20 and there was already a queue winding its way from the office on the second floor to the street outside. By the time I left at 9, the queue had spread further down the street and I couldn't actually see the end of it when I came out, and that's just one of the polling stations in my area! Egyptians willingly and quietly lining up with no pushing or shoving is in itself is an amazing sight to behold!  

    The atmosphere was great, very positive and everyone was eager to ensure their voice will be heard, anyone who started to try and convince people to vote one way or another were told to keep their opinions to themselves and just vote when it was their turn. I had a woman behind me in the queue, whom I can only describe as a traditional Egyptian Mama, who was welcoming everyone who joined the line and told me she'd spent last night going around her neighbourhood reminding everyone that it was their right to vote and brought some of them with her today. She was talking about all the changes she's hoping to see in Egypt including an all-female police force to deal with sexual harassment. She got a big cheer for that one!

  In the end, I went into the polling room handed in my National I.D, took my ballot paper behind the screen, popped it in the box and dipped my finger in the fluorescent ink to prove I'd voted.

WHAT A FEELING!!

 To think that a mere 2 months ago, all this would have been impossible. In 3 months Egyptians have toppled a corrupt government and taken the first steps to re-build the country democratically. That's amazing.

  If you live in a democratic country, don't ever take your right to free and fair elections for granted. We had to fight and many died for us to get this far today. 

VOTE!

To Question Authority or Not To Question Authority?

   Over the last few weeks stories have been spreading through Egypt at the speed it takes to press 'send' on a mobile phone. These stories always start the same way; "Confirmed news" or "True story" and end with "plz spread" and the like.

   All this coupled with people's reactions to television news (I'm thinking specifically of state-run television here) has made me wonder why Egyptians are so ready to believe what they're told without question. In my opinion, the blame lies with the education system. The Egyptian national education system is very old-fashioned in one vital aspect; it relies on rote learning and not the understanding of concepts to achieve high grades. Year after year, regardless of the subject, students cram the facts into their heads then extract it all in the exam and wipe the slate clean for the following year. This continues all the way up through to university. The only time it doesn't happen is when children go to international schools which follow a foreign system or one of the private universities where grades can also depend on research papers.

   My point is, if for the major formative years of one's life the only way to succeed is to blindly and deafly repeat what a higher authority(teachers, lectures, textbooks) has said then surely this will have an effect on one's ability to think critically? If that authority is thought to have all the answers, surely one learns not to question that authority for fear of failure? And when the authority behind that comes out with statements about the state of the country one has become so conditioned that once again, no one questions it.

  Yes, things are dangerous here in Egypt, but my question is this; is it more dangerous or a different kind of danger? I'm not saying that all these people are lying, or that the people behind these messages are not well-intentioned. Nor am I claiming that all is calm on the streets. However, what I am saying is that there is, in my opinion, a great risk of panic spreading among people. Everyone who reads these messages believes them and sends them on to their contact list. But no one seems to bother to find out where the story originated from. The cousin or friend in the message could be anyone. Please, if you get one of these, call the person who sent it and ask if they wrote it. If they didn't and are just forwarding it, please try to verify the story before sending it on.

   Mad-Eye Moody from the Harry Potter is always urging "Constant Vigilance", this is certainly the line we should be taking, just make sure vigilance doesn't turn to paranoia.

Tea and Politics.

   Well we didn't actually drink tea, but we most certainly spoke politics. A few nights ago my brother, a friend and I went to a friend's house to meet with a judge and former UN lawyer to talk politics and the discuss the future of Egypt.
 
   Conversation ranged from the structure of the country's justice system and the challenges facing those in it and the possible scenarios in Egypt's future. The major focus of the evening though, was the proposed amendments to the constitution. These amendments address several main areas:

1. The President (who is eligible and time limits of office).
2. Elections and voting.
3. The appointment of a Vice-President.
4. Emergency Law.
5. Presidential use of military justice.
6. Amending the constitution. 

For the full details of the amendments please click here Egypt's Constitutional Amendments

   Something that I hadn't realized before this meeting was that the old constitution is technically null and void since when Mubarak stepped down and handed control to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces the constitution fell with him, because he left office due to a revolution. Legally our current constitution is what was issued by the SCAF in their communique which stated their intent to uphold the laws of the land and all international agreements and treaties ( a thinly veiled assurance to Israel regarding the Camp David peace agreement). This means that instead of simply amending the constitution, now is the best possible time to re-draft the entire document. The only possibility of this happening is if the proposed amendments are refused in the referendum to be held on March 19th.                                 

   One article that was not mentioned in the list of proposed amendments is the second article. This states that the official language of Egypt is Arabic, the official religion is Islam and that Islamic sharia is the only source of jurisprudence.  This is the section that a growing number of people have objections too. Egypt has approximately 10 million Coptic Christians and it is felt by them, and many Muslims, that this last section of the second article is unfair to this section of the population.

   What 'our' judge was able to tell us, is that in his professional experience this is only applied in family law and only to Muslims. Our host family was Coptic Christian and to hear the situation discussed rationally, calmly and intellectually from both points of view was refreshing, too often these conversations turn hostile. One of the points raised was that of religious education in school. One argued that from a very young age she felt "different" from her friends when the class was separated for religion classes. Her argument was that if this were removed from the curriculum (leaving religious education to the home and family) it may well go some way to removing the 'us and them' mentality which in cases may be subconscious.

   All in all it was one of the most interesting, stimulating and thought-provoking evenings I've had in a long time. I really hope we get a chance to repeat it.                                    

The Day of Departure, Friday 11/02/2011

    Well. WE DID IT!!!!!!  Today President Hosni Mubarak stepped down as the head of state! Barely 24 hours after he had vowed to stay in office until presidential elections in September the Vice-President Omar Suliman announced that the President had 'in light of current circumstances' handed over the running of the country to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

    The response was immediate and electrifying.

    Except maybe in my house. After hours spent watching Al-Jazeera Arabic my dad switched to the International channel then left the room. My brother got bored at the lack of developments and also walked away. So when history was made it was just my mum and I there. And we were only there because we were going to drink our tea!

   I admit, what Suliman said didn't register straight away. It took a couple of seconds for my brain to process what I had just heard. Mum and I were looking at each other making sure we'd each come to the same conclusion, then she leapt up to get my brother. By the time he'd come back out, my friend had rang and we'd agreed to go back down to Tahrir Square to celebrate.

   Like yesterday we took the Metro down to Tahrir. Oh but what a difference 24 hours can make! People were congratulating each other left, right and centre and everyone seemed to be smiling.

   It took us a lot longer to even get to the entry to Tahrir tonight because of the crowds. The sheer number of people in the streets and on the bridges shouting, cheering, waving flags and singing was amazing, and that was before we even reached the hub of the revolution.

Crowds on the bridge overlooking Ramses St.

Tanks along Ramses St.

The Lawyers Syndicate

Crowds outside the Lawyers Syndicate

   Unlike yesterday we did not have to show our IDs or be searched before we passed the barricades told us 'there's too many people and we're free now!'. The sounds in Tahrir were incredible, it hit you the closer you got to the centre (unfortunately we weren't able to get right there tonight, too many people) and it didn't once let up.

   After Tahrir we headed back to the Metro to go to the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis. One of the Metro stations is called Mubarak Station (2 others are Sadat and Nasser) and last night people had crossed off his name and replace it with 'shuhad'aa' or Martyrs.

The newly renamed station.

More impromptu renaming 

    The Presidential Palace is only 10 minutes away from my house and the surrounding neighbourhood is as familiar to me as the back of my hand. I've never seen it look like it did tonight and I doubt I ever will again.

  The noise, the sights and just the waves of sheer joy, relief and victory rolling off the people was indescribable. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so instead of trying to describe it, here are some pictures of last night.

February 11th 2011 Egypt Reborn