Cairo Relishes Return to Late Nights After Month of Eerie Calm

(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.

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.

“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.”

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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

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. 

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.”

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).

The government had said the measures were temporary and a better solution than repeating the rolling blackouts Cairo experienced a few years ago as Egypt wrestled with an economic crisis partly spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The authorities said the aim was also to reduce fuel use, with fewer car journeys made by people shopping and dining.

Mina Youssef, a 46-year-old engineer, said the end of the restrictions is coming at the right time. “We start our life after 9 p.m., especially now the summer is coming,” he said, having a blended drink of avocado with nuts and honey with his wife at a café on Sunday. “Egyptians like staying up late, having a life after work and spending time with each other.”

Cairo adapted, at least. One waiter called Hamada said the normal routine went on at the small café where he works, albeit discreetly. “We keep the lights off and make tea and coffee using the glow from our mobile phones,” he said. “We can’t serve fresh juices, though — the blender is too loud.”

Other Cairenes have rearranged their days, rising and finishing work earlier to give time to hang out, shop and eat before everything closes. Some combine the two. At midday on a recent Tuesday, Rasha Ahmed sat a French café in Citystars, one of Egypt’s oldest and still fanciest major shopping malls, with two friends. Each was tapping away at their laptops as they worked remotely.

“We decided to spend our time here,” said Ahmed, who works in the services industry. “We work from the café from morning, then we have dinner and shop when we finish.”

The closing hours didn’t apply everywhere. Areas deemed to attract tourists — a key foreign-currency earner for Egypt — were officially exempt. Visit Mamsha Ahl Misr, a ticketed promenade on the Nile’s eastern bank, and you could almost have been in another country.

Lights were blazing and Arab pop music pumped into the air, as crowds strolled an upmarket part of the corniche dotted with Western-style cafés, nightclubs and stands selling fast food and trinkets. The buzz didn’t die down until 2 a.m.

Some tourists were affected, though. Gulf Arab visitors have long been a mainstay in Cairo, especially during the spring and summer. Mohamed, a Saudi who was shopping with his wife, praised the Egyptian government’s decision to ease restrictions.

The couple visits Cairo every summer with family and friends to avoid the heat in the kingdom. Mohamed’s wife was calling friends and parents to let them know the situation was normalizing. They told her they would book and come next week, she said.

“One of the best things about Egypt is that you can do shopping at 12 a.m., have a meal at 3 a.m. — you can have whatever fun you want at any time,” Mohamed said. “The streets were really depressing for the past month.”

While many Cairenes had lamented the loss of nightlife, for some employees the new hours brought unexpected relief. Siham, who works at a clothes store, said the initial 9 p.m. closing time meant she was able to go home early and enjoy her evenings.

“In the past month I knew the meaning of having a life and fun after work,' said Siham, who asked only to be identified by her first name to protect her privacy. “I wish it had lasted forever.”

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