Cairo Relishes Return to Late Nights After Month of Eerie Calm

The lights stay off in a small store at night. Photographer: Islam Safwat/Bloomberg Photo by Islam Safwat /Photographer: Islam Safwat/Bloom

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(Bloomberg) — Most evenings, Mohamed Ismail would sit at his local ‘ahwa, one of the small, no-frills coffee shops that are the cornerstone of social life in Cairo. He would smoke shisha and play chess with friends often until 2 or even 3 a.m., with the streets of Egypt’s capital still busy with crowds shopping, snacking and chatting.

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Then came the Iran war. After energy prices soared, businesses were forced to close earlier to curb electricity use, dimming the lights on Cairo’s storied nocturnal activity. When the authorities announced on Sunday that the monthlong measures were easing, Ismail rejoiced.

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“May God preserve this blessing, and may the government not change its mind and return again to the early closing time,” the 78-year-old retiree said, sitting in an ‘ahwa enjoying tea with fresh mint and chewing roasted seeds. “It was a difficult, depressing period.”

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The government curfew for shutting down and switching off had forced residents of the 1,000-year-old metropolis to squeeze in their after-work socializing, initially by 9 p.m. and then 11 p.m. While that might already have seemed late to call it a day in the US or Europe, it upended the lives of Cairenes and cast a dark, eerie calm over the largest city in the Middle East and Africa.

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With prices still high for a country that relies on imports, the expectation was that Egypt would extend its effort to reduce energy use in the hospitality industry. 

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But Egypt’s cabinet said in a statement that outlets would be able to close as normal from later this week. Local television later said cafés and restaurants would have to shut now at 1 a.m. rather than 11 p.m. Some used to be open around the clock.

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In places like Korba, a square in Cairo’s east whose distinctive cream-toned buildings date from the early 20th century, a vibrant middle-class area known for its gold stores turned into a ghost town. The chic cafés, family-run clothes stores and shawarma joints lining the Art Deco-styled arcades were required to pull down their shutters and switch off the lights.

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Less than an hour after the government’s decision was announced, some Egyptians celebrated in front of one of the oldest ‘ahwas in the area. More than two dozen young men danced and clapped their hands. Others chanted and beat small handheld drums.

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“We celebrate our freedom,” said Mostafa Khalil, 20, a university student. “Egyptians can’t live without nightlife. We felt we were in prison.”

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The sprawling city of some 20 million people is normally a buzzing, chaotic place whose thundering highways, boisterous markets and neon-lit party boats blasting music on the Nile make it an assault on the senses. Since late March, though, streetlights were dimmed or shut off, including on the boulevards near the landmark Tahrir Square and Egyptian Museum. 

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Ahmed Abbas, a 30-year-old Cairo resident, said the early closing had hit him hard. Like Ismail, he too would sit in an ‘ahwa until the small hours with friends. “Cairo used to be the city that doesn’t sleep,” he lamented before Sunday’s announcement. “I used to take this for granted.”

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Although restaurants could still deliver, they cooked behind darkened shopfronts. Rare illumination on the roads came from pharmacies and small kiosks, 24-hour staples in Cairo that sell packaged snacks, drinks and cigarettes. They were mostly allowed to stay open. Other businesses violating the new regulations faced fines of as much as 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($965).