In central Cairo, cars, taxis, motorcycles and buses whizz around the Tahrir Square roundabout with the towering Ramses II obelisk at its centre.
The traffic spirals off in various directions: the Egyptian Museum, the old American University in Cairo campus, the Ramses train station and elsewhere, in this overcrowded metropolis of 23 million people.
Amazingly, pedestrians are in the middle of it all, interwoven in the chaos, walking to their jobs, catching their buses and peddling their goods.
No one waits for traffic to slow down to get where they need to be. There are no buttons to push and no “don’t walk” and “walk” signs to light up. The faded white lines of pedestrian crossings are barely visible and meaningless in any case, and the colours of traffic lights do not necessarily correlate with “go” or “stop”.
A family of four French tourists stand on the pavement, waiting for the right opportunity to cross the wide streets between them and the museum, before dashing across.
“When we saw some Egyptians, we followed behind them,” says Alexandra Bayle, 26.
She and her husband flanked her younger sister and mother for added protection.
“It’s like chaos, but organised. There are a lot of people, a lot of cars, a lot of noise, but everyone seems to fit. I don’t know how it’s possible,” she says.
Crossing the street in Cairo is an art, and Egyptians have mostly perfected it, for better or worse. When the unspoken system works, it is impressive, while at other times it is dangerous and sometimes deadly.
The country’s statistics agency says road accidents claimed the lives of more than 7,100 people last year and injured more than 51,500. About a quarter of injuries were recorded among pedestrians.
On a global level, Egypt has the ninth highest figure for deaths per million vehicles at 939, based on 2016 data collected by the World Bank.
Pedestrians made up 27 per cent of road deaths in the country, according to 2016 figures from the Ministry of Health.
Some say the perilous situation has been made worse by the expansion of roads and building of flyovers in recent years, meant to ease traffic.
Pedestrian bridges don’t solve the problem
In Heliopolis, about 15 kilometres north-east of Tahrir Square, a street that was once a few lanes wide is now six on each side like a motorway.
Traffic police have been removed and motorists are left to their own devices, which means it is not uncommon to see a tuk-tuk on the far side, travelling the opposite way of the traffic.
The government has built at least half a dozen elaborate pedestrian bridges above the road for people to cross, but many still use the old-fashioned way of dodging cars down below.
“People find it easier that way. They get lazy about climbing the stairs,” says Yehia El Sagheer, 42, one of the few pedestrians using a bridge.
“But the road has become very fast, which makes it more dangerous. When it was a smaller road, cars were going more slowly,” he says.
The installation of footbridges does not necessarily solve the problem, says urban researcher Yahia Shawkat.
Women may find pedestrian bridges in isolated areas unsafe and disabled people cannot access them if there are no lifts.
“The pedestrian bridge, from an engineering point of view, might alleviate the problem, but it also has to be seen from a social perspective, a gender perspective,” says Mr Shawkat, the co-founder of Cairo-based urban studies group 10Tooba.
“That’s why there’s always this advocacy for at-level pedestrian crossings where there’s a complete stop of cars, which is the traffic light.”
The expansion of inner city highways, the removal of traffic lights and the U-turns resulting in a “perpetual flow of vehicles” all put more pedestrians at risk, Mr Shawkat says.
“I know people who stop taxis, call Ubers, just to go on the other side of what used to be a boulevard with trees … to do their errands within their neighbourhood, because it’s just so impossible to cross.”
Cairo not a walkable city
The expansion of roads has also resulted in less green and walkable space in Cairo, and cyclist paths are nonexistent.
The government has tried to change that with the new Mamsha Ahl Misr, which means “Walk of the People of Egypt”, along the Nile. The first 1.8-kilometre segment of the promenade opened earlier this year, but some criticised the decision in July to charge 20 pounds ($1) per person as an entrance fee to the lower section on the riverbank, a prohibitive sum for many Egyptian families.
The housing ministry has said the fees will go towards maintenance and be limited to a certain area within the walkway.
Nevertheless, the walkway opens only at 9am, so it is not the place for early risers keen to go for a morning stroll. The newly installed bike racks stand empty and the freshly painted bike lanes, although they are accessible free-of-charge at street level, don’t seem to bear the marks of cycle tracks.
All in all, it is more of an entertainment destination, with cafes and boat rides, than part of a pedestrian’s daily life.
Despite Cairo not being a very walkable city, walking is unavoidable for most. Some shrug at the alleged dangers of navigating the streets by foot and find ways to adapt.
Back at Tahrir Square, an elderly man crossing the street puts out his cane in front of him to alert drivers to stop. A woman yells out “Ramses!” as she flails her arms to a passing minibus and clambers on board.
Some pedestrians use the “jog-stop-jog” method, while others slowly walk while calculating the exact moment they can pass to the front or back of a moving vehicle.
“It’s not a big deal,” says Seif Mohamed, 23. “But eye contact is a must.”
He did add that more underground underpasses would be nice, while his work colleague, Heba Hamdy, 23, chimed in, “and more traffic lights”.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Indika
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The biog
Favourite Emirati dish: Fish machboos
Favourite spice: Cumin
Family: mother, three sisters, three brothers and a two-year-old daughter
ASHES FIXTURES
1st Test: Brisbane, Nov 23-27
2nd Test: Adelaide, Dec 2-6
3rd Test: Perth, Dec 14-18
4th Test: Melbourne, Dec 26-30
5th Test: Sydney, Jan 4-8
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Avatar%20(2009)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
