Water

Water is a gift from God, and must not be denied, it is said in the Koran I am told. To that end, coolers like this are set out on the streets of Cairo. They are put out by various shops and businesses all over town as a public service. They have a cup attached, are filled with cool water and are available to all. I am not sure I would feel comfortable taking a drink form a communal cup like this one, but others feel quite at home using these. You see people taking a drink all the time.

When I first saw these coolers set out on the street I wondered why they were there. They were most prevalent in shopping areas. As I pondered the next one I saw, a man came up and took the cup down, got a drink, rinsed the cup and set it back on the cooler. Question answered. This is Cairo's way of sharing the water. It is a rather nice service when you think about it--I still think I prefer a swig from my bottled water--but Cairenes take full advantage of these coolers in the course of their shopping and moving about town.