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Saturday 24 July 2010: an affinity to hold

I've mentioned before how in Cairo, there is an affinity to hold on to everything. We don't throw things away, and if we do, we're more likely to give them to the Roba Bikya men* than toss them in the garbage.

Cars might be the exception. They don't go to the Roba Bikya men, but there are a lot of hand-me-downs driving through the streets of Cairo, that you wonder how they can possibly still work. I spotted these two little gems in a side street in downtown Cairo, and I'm sure they've both seen better days.

*The expression Roba Bikya comes from the Italian Roba Vecchia, which literally means old clothes. There are men in Cairo who wander the streets calling out Roba Bekya, and if anyone has anything they would like to throw away, they give it to them.

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Edit: I just noticed that the license plate on the car on the right in Arabic - fa'el - actually means do or act.

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cairo egypt

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