# What are your memories of the revolution?



## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I am sure most of us had no idea that we would be living through history and the dawning of what should be a new era.

My most vivid memory was the Friday.. the police were all out on the bridge in riot gear and I recall being so surprised at seeing how young the thugs standing around with the police were and a silly thing sticks in my mind.. they all seemed to be wearing stripped jumpers and shibshibs...it must have been for identification purposes.
I was scared and excited at the same time.


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## txlstewart (Jun 20, 2010)

I remember CNN reporting that the prisoners had all been released from a prison "south of Cairo." I kept reassuring my friends that we were okay---not realizing that Maadi IS south of Cairo!

Tanks on my street, tank fire, constant gunfire, groups of men guarding our neighborhoods.....very surreal!


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## SHendra (Oct 18, 2010)

Can remember the local guys around my building all pulling together.. was that sense of community, even though it was tough days. Noone was allowed within our section without a paper made pass!

Can remember loosing touch with the outside world when our nets and phonelines went and even when our mobiles came back was very hard to buy top ups for them! 

I can also remember putting my brain into gear with a 'what would you need if you were camping?' lol. When things were getting worse I sent for enough baby milk to last weeks and since my lad was only 10months old I ensure I had a good amount of baby food to incase I couldn't cook for some reason (like if gas runs out unable to get new bottle or electrics down too!). Even ensured we had enough batteries for the torches! 

I of course also remember hearing the shootings down the street and the tanks rolling up and down my road too.

But most importantly I feel what I remember the most is how lucky we as foreigners are.. esp with being able to stock up if we needed to in advance unlike many locals who can only live week by week.


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## hhaddad (Apr 14, 2010)

I remember very well sitting on my balcony watching the tear gas bombs in the distance not realising I was inhaling small amounts at the same time.
Buying all the independant newspapers which told mostly what was happening.

Watching Al Jazeera constatly with a little BBC + CNN.(luckily I speak and understand enough Arabic.

Also spending the nights on the street with the other guys guarding our building(bit funny as I was the only foreigner )

Removing the local channels from the receiver in anger.

Buying mobile recharge cards at double the price due to shortage an then 2 days later the network was down.

Spending a whole day to find an ATM still working.


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

Great topic!
Wow, where to start, I guess from the beginning, the days leading to the revolution, this forum helped me a lot, to know what was coming, to be aware beforehand of the need to stock up for food and water, and have lots of cash available to cover for unexpected events. 

My worst memory was obviously on friday. My husband was at work and I didn't know when he was coming. I put my kids to bed and kept hearing gunfire. He eventually came home. The internet was already off. We watched TV. I remeber watching BBC news and sudently there news being reported of prisioners breaking free in Torah prision and that "Residents in the upscale neihbourhood of Maadi were reporting criminals getting in their homes and robbing them"\

At that time we were living in Road 205 Degla, not far from Torah Prision and let me tell you my road became a battle camp. I couldn't sleep all night. The gunfire never stoped. We were living in a Ground floor with no security and anyone could have broken the window (I didn't even had wooden doors in the windows) and get in. 

On saturday morning I went to Seudi Market to get some more food and water and it was empty. Nothing left. 
Talking to a Southafrican lady she said she drove to Carrefour and it was being looted by dozens of thugs, so she never got in. 

THe following night (saturday night) we barridaded ourselves in my children's bedroom, with a heavy armoir on the door and another one covering the window and spent another sleepless night. 

Sunday morning my husbans' manager called him and told him he was required back at work, he said I'm going nowhere without my family, so they sent a car to callect us and spent the following two weeks at my husband's workplace. I remember the things I saw when I was being driven to Cairo, the burned trucks and the mess in the streets. It was all very scary. 

The rest is history.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> I am sure most of us had no idea that we would be living through history and the dawning of what should be a new era.
> 
> My most vivid memory was the Friday.. the police were all out on the bridge in riot gear and I recall being so surprised at seeing how young the thugs standing around with the police were and a silly thing sticks in my mind.. they all seemed to be wearing stripped jumpers and shibshibs...it must have been for identification purposes.
> I was scared and excited at the same time.


We are still living through history. I don't think i'ts over yet.

From January 28 2011 (Friday of Anger), I remember that the call to Friday prayers rang out like a battle cry. Fear and anticipation in the air. 

Next day, a friend from Rehab called me in hysterics. She lived next to one of the gates to the compound and from her window could see armed baltaggeya trying to get in. While she was screaming down the phone, I had my 12 year-old daughter sitting right next to me, begging for comfort that I could not provide. fear.

Watching AlJazeera, round the clock. 

NO INTERNET. NO MOBILES. NO CASH. CURFEW. 

Battle of the Camel. Went on through the night. The army standing iddle, watching Egyptians kill each other. I worried about civil war.

Anger. I called someone at the embassy and they got a piece of my mind.

February 10. Disbelief and outrage that Mubarak still defiant in his last televised speech.

feb 11. relief than he was gone, celebration in the streets. Apprehension, what next?

Indeed, what next?


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## Whitedesert (Oct 9, 2011)

I only remember the boredom...18 days of it...


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

Whitedesert said:


> I only remember the boredom...18 days of it...


LOL now I'm thinking that maybe the southafrican lady I encountered in Seudi market could have been your wife...While all this was going on, her main worry was that she couldn't play Golf in Katameya that day.


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## hhaddad (Apr 14, 2010)

Sonrisa said:


> LOL now I'm thinking that maybe the southafrican lady I encountered in Seudi market could have been your wife...While all this was going on, her main worry was that she couldn't play Golf in Katameya that day.


How can anybody get bored when there's a Revolution going on around them unless they're a descendant of Nero or a relative of Mubarak or perhaps has an N.D.P. card.


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

Dunno. I guess some really do live in a thick bubble.
Which is fine, whatever makes one happy.


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## CatMandoo (Dec 16, 2011)

The whole period for me was completely nerve-wracking and scary.

My husband and I had boarded a flight Jan 25th at 8am to Sharm for a holiday and to celebrate his upcoming birthday. Not a clue did we have that a revolution was about to happen.

I felt very isolated in Sharm, knew no one, and once the phones were shut off, and the hotel manager told me there was no internet, my fears multiplied. My husband is an invalid, confined to a wheelchair. I am responsible for him. I couldn't contact any family members to see what was going on, and though Sharm appeared to be distanced from the violence, one could only wonder how long that would hold true.

Watching what little coverage we could find on the hotel's television channels, I was in shock. I never thought anything like this could or would happen in Egypt.

When the phones came back on, family told us to stay where we were at, and not come back, we had only booked for 8 days. Our hotel was almost empty, and I had had enough. I wanted to come back home. 

Had to reschedule our flight as we had booked a night flight and there was no way I was flying back to Alex at night, especially with a curfew in place, and the possibility of being stuck in that hell hole of an old decrepate airport and my husband's condition being as such.

The airport at Sharm was a total nightmare. Hundreds of people at the Air Egypt gates screaming and shouting and pushing and shoving. Total chaos.

I finally managed to find someone to help me and we were finally escorted to the boarding gate for the flight. When we arrived at the Alex airport and went outside, I was beginning to wonder if I had made the right decision. Tanks everywhere. We had to walk all the way to the front entrance as no cars were being allowed inside.

The ride back home, a total nightmare. There were huge gangs of men at almost every intersection, blocking cars, demanding trunks be opened, and all of them armed with huge sticks and clubs. I almost wet my pants, literally!! 

We finally arrived back home, which is kind of in the middle of nowhere - out in the desert. Got inside the house and tried to calm down. I knew my husband was in a very bad state. We immediately turned on the television for updates. It was never shut off.

All night long, gun shots were heard, local bedouins trying to scare off any possible thiefs and or thugs. The thing is, you never knew if they were just warning shots, or if there really was a problem. Scared to death all night long. We are not that far from one of the prisons where all the inmates were let loose.

We did miss alot of the really bad stuff being in Sharm, but I think for the average person, who grew up in a western nation, this was truly something you thought you would maybe be watching at the cinema, NEVER really living it!


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## Whitedesert (Oct 9, 2011)

Sonrisa said:


> LOL now I'm thinking that maybe the southafrican lady I encountered in Seudi market could have been your wife...While all this was going on, her main worry was that she couldn't play Golf in Katameya that day.


Not my wife, she does not play golf, she wanted to go to Tharir Square to see what was going on. Had to chain her to the apartment. I built a putt-putt court in the back patio and had it impressively improved by the time the revolution was over.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Egypt Timeline: Events of 2011 - Egypt Elections - Al Jazeera English


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

hhaddad said:


> How can anybody get bored when there's a Revolution going on around them unless they're a descendant of Nero or a relative of Mubarak or perhaps has an N.D.P. card.


but I'm sure the Mubaraks were anything but bored: too many things to sort out, too many plans to make, so many documents to destroy...


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## hhaddad (Apr 14, 2010)

aykalam said:


> but I'm sure the Mubaraks were anything but bored: too many things to sort out, too many plans to make, so many documents to destroy...


I'm sure they just sat on there backsides and the flunkies took care of the rest .The most important thing to HIM was that his food arrived from France as usual.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> but I'm sure the Mubaraks were anything but bored: too many things to sort out, too many plans to make, so many documents to destroy...




I read an interview with one of Suzanne Mubaraks friends ( some friend) that during the revolution she phoned SM and was astounded to be told that there was nothing serious going on and that it would be sorted, SM could not undertand what the problem was and why the people were demonstrating after all HM and done for the country.

I don't suppose for one minute that they thought this would be their downfall, after he he had issued the order.. deal with them the usual way


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## Maireadhoey (Jul 25, 2011)

My resounding memory .....and I know I'm leaving myself open to abuse, but it has to be said..is what a bunch of whingeing, whining, pathetic, self centered collection of acquaintances I had the mis-fortune to be evacuated with. We didn't leave until 2nd Feb and honestly they did nothing but complain. We were sent to Dubai (which I hate anyway) and they completely milked the situation, doing their utmost to remain in Dubai. 

Sensible school teachers, I know oxymoron, were such drama queens that they had their own kids in a mess, so concerned were they that theirs was the most dramatic/scary story. 

I accept that being from Belfast we were probably more acquainted with the guns and tanks, but come on these very very brave Egyptians were aiming for a better quality of life, I was excited for them, and could not believe how selfish the expats around me were in their outlook. The whole "what's in it for me " mentality drove me crazy

irisheyesoncairo


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## ArabianNights (Jul 23, 2011)

Maireadhoey said:


> My resounding memory .....and I know I'm leaving myself open to abuse, but it has to be said..is what a bunch of whingeing, whining, pathetic, self centered collection of acquaintances I had the mis-fortune to be evacuated with. We didn't leave until 2nd Feb and honestly they did nothing but complain. We were sent to Dubai (which I hate anyway) and they completely milked the situation, doing their utmost to remain in Dubai.
> 
> Sensible school teachers, I know oxymoron, were such drama queens that they had their own kids in a mess, so concerned were they that theirs was the most dramatic/scary story.
> 
> ...



Stay in Dubai? How would that work then? Claim Egyptian-expat asylum?


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## CatMandoo (Dec 16, 2011)

Of course, hindsight is 20-20. Would anyone have done things differently, looking back?

For me, I wish I had stayed back in Sharm another week or 2. I hated being in an isolated area, especially during the night.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

CatMandoo said:


> Of course, hindsight is 20-20. Would anyone have done things differently, looking back?
> 
> For me, I wish I had stayed back in Sharm another week or 2. I hated being in an isolated area, especially during the night.




Sorry but I don't want the thread to go off on a tangent x

:focus::focus::focus::focus:


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## CatMandoo (Dec 16, 2011)

MaidenScotland said:


> Sorry but I don't want the thread to go off on a tangent x
> 
> :focus::focus::focus::focus:


IMHO it's all related, not sure why asking Expats what they might do differently, is going off on a tangent. Maybe some of us could learn something new, or how to handle certain situations that came up differently, especially given the fact that there is a possibility all hell could break loose again in a day or two.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

CatMandoo said:


> IMHO it's all related, not sure why asking Expats what they might do differently, is going off on a tangent. Maybe some of us could learn something new, or how to handle certain situations that came up differently, especially given the fact that there is a possibility all hell could break loose again in a day or two.




The clue is in the title :focus:


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## ArabianNights (Jul 23, 2011)

Well, my 2 cents is that my memory of the revolution was that in my Arabic classes back home, we were suddenly learning lots of new vocabulary related to the revolution and wars.... I had to do many assignments based on the events in Egypt. Few months later, I am here :O


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## hyper_janice (Jan 13, 2012)

I remember Sami was driving us home after visiting relatives. They live in Helwan and we live in 10th of Ramadan. We are driving down the highway and I see transports carrying tanks and some tanks driving down the road by themselves. It seemed like they just kept coming and coming and I think, Holy ****, what the hell is going on now! It was just shocking to me to see so many tanks driving down the highway!

Then we're hold up in the house for several weeks. My internet was down and my daughter was calling the government trying to hunt me down. My sister kept trying to calm her down telling her Sami would take care of me.

Tenth of Ramadan is so quiet, you wouldn't even know anything was going on accept for the two tanks parked conspicuously.

SUCH DRAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

That Friday night was the most scary. Our Security told us to put the car behind the Gates. Shut and lock the doors and don't come out !!!!

We had three friends come to our house to stay for a few days.

Actually the fear of not having anyone to phone (no mobiles) or call for help was the worst. What if we were attacked in our home ???

Do we put all the lights on to show we are at home or go dark ???

When the Tanks arrived in Rehab and we ventured out and saw tank track marks on the roads and found a Tank on every gate we were mighty relieved.

After that it was the basics, can we get food and money, can we contact the UK to tell them we are OK etc.

Then we got bored - being in the house with 2 teenage kids was tiresome. In the end out of boredom rather than fear my wife and kids had a few days in the UK. I stayed here all the time, went to work etc


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## gw4khq (Oct 27, 2009)

I suppose my main memory is after the stress of the days leading up to Mubarak stepping down (?) was when the announcement came, hugging all our Egyptian staff and crying with them that it was all over.


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## ArabianNights (Jul 23, 2011)

gw4khq said:


> hugging all our Egyptian staff and *crying* with them that it was all over.


You cried? Really?


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## CatMandoo (Dec 16, 2011)

ArabianNights said:


> You cried? Really?


Hey I cried too! lol


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

gw4khq said:


> I suppose my main memory is after the stress of the days leading up to Mubarak stepping down (?) was when the announcement came, hugging all our Egyptian staff and crying with them that it was all over.




When the announcement came I phoned the office and said I will go home now (must have been feeling nostalgic as I never c all Egypt home) but I was very happy for Egypt. I had met an Egyptian man who worked in the Virgin Megga Store in Jeddah and I used to show him all the text messages from SCAF..remember those?
he said it helped him to look at them and see his country was going forward.


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## gw4khq (Oct 27, 2009)

ArabianNights said:


> You cried? Really?


Yes. I was so happy for them.


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## gw4khq (Oct 27, 2009)

CatMandoo said:


> Hey I cried too! lol


Now, we are Egyptian too.


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## ArabianNights (Jul 23, 2011)

gw4khq said:


> Yes. I was so happy for them.


Oh how soppy and sweet :hug:


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## Whitedesert (Oct 9, 2011)

aykalam said:


> but I'm sure the Mubaraks were anything but bored: too many things to sort out, too many plans to make, so many documents to destroy...


 Guess I am a decendant of Nero


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## greeny (Apr 29, 2008)

I remember standing on the balcony 17 floors up taking photographs of the fighter jets thinking' this is history in the making'. One of the doormen getting his 12 year old son to accompany me shopping saying he didnt want me going out alone. After getting fresh bread from the nice bakery on Zamelak, sitting by the Nile thinking 'can I sit it out or do I have to go home' and being approached by a man with an obvious gun inside his jacket asking me my thoughts on the revolution. That somewhat made my mind up, and then........
My stupid husband, just because he had paid for gym membership at The Conrad saying 'its only over the bridge I can see it I am going once curfew is over.' (in the morning) Half an hour later he was back having been grabbed by 6 men, a scuffle followed, he got hit on the head with an iron bar but managed to run and get free of them. The following day we were on a plane home via Beirut.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

greeny said:


> I remember standing on the balcony 17 floors up taking photographs of the fighter jets thinking' this is history in the making'. One of the doormen getting his 12 year old son to accompany me shopping saying he didnt want me going out alone. After getting fresh bread from the nice bakery on Zamelak, sitting by the Nile thinking 'can I sit it out or do I have to go home' and being approached by a man with an obvious gun inside his jacket asking me my thoughts on the revolution. That somewhat made my mind up, and then........
> My stupid husband, just because he had paid for gym membership at The Conrad saying 'its only over the bridge I can see it I am going once curfew is over.' (in the morning) Half an hour later he was back having been grabbed by 6 men, a scuffle followed, he got hit on the head with an iron bar but managed to run and get free of them. The following day we were on a plane home via Beirut.




I remember you telling us...I also remember I posted about the camel army passing my door and 20 minutes later you posted that they had just passed yours,


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