TE21 Serbian Moments

Zamalek (novel excerpt) Dejan Tiago Stanković

Dust Whichever side it blows from, Cairo’s is a desert wind and it brings so much dust that it gives life a dusty taste; even when you get used to it, it is not pleasant. That is why the Bedouins wear scarves both summer and winter. It is not the first thing a newcomer notices, but Cairo does not have rainwaterdrainage, there is not asinglegutter in its streets, not a drainage pipe on its roofs, because it isn’t necessary. The rain, if there is any, falls no more there than it does in that part of the desert. Sometimes, in the winter, there is a sprinkle of rain but the drops evaporate as soon as they hit the dry ground, they don’t even have time to forma little puddle. There is never a real downpour in Cairo, unlike Alexandria, where the heavy rainclears thedust fromtheairand theearth. Maybeonceevery several years there will be a bit more than a drizzle, enough to wet the asphalt and create such havoc in the traffic that the city comes to a stop until the roads are dry, which happens quickly. Quickly, because the air in Cairo is so dry that when you step out of the shower or swimming pool, you don’t have to towel yourself or change out of your swimming suit. When you wash the laundry, you hang it on the line and before you turn around

Dejan Tiago Stanković 10

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