In the summer the city gets too hot. Flocks of Egyptians migrate to the North Coast for respite from the searing heat. They bring buckets, spades, blankets, and children. For 2 months of the year the coastal resorts are as busy as any Cairo street. You can watch movies, eat falafel, and go to the circus in Gamasa. There are no nightclubs or foreigners here, unlike the Red Sea coast. You can even find subsidised bread. For Egypt's poorer families, this is heaven. For a week or two.

And then people go home.

Egypt August 2008


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