Some of the best street art I have ever seen is in Cairo, near Tahrir square.
This is Muhammad Mahmoud street, the site of heavy clashes between students and police in September 2011. The entire street was then closed until six months ago.
Our friends Andy and Sayed interpreted the Arabic for us. Vote for the pimp, this one said.
Andy says the paintings last for about a month, and then the government sends a worker to clean them up. So even though he lives in Cairo, he had never seen some of these before.
The political situation here is uncertain. Sayed thinks the current stability will last about six more months. He was in Tahrir Square during the clashes and narrowly escaped being detained. He tells about the colonel who interceded on his behalf.
There are no protests right now, because the government has made them illegal. But who knows how long this will last.
Drinking mint tea and in a cafe in Cairo's backstreets, I felt safe and secure, and grateful to have excellent company in this layered metropolis.
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