a strange incident on Thursday

One mildly unnerving thing happened on Thursday on my way to the bus. I was rolling my luggage up Marashli Street, and right in front of Tabasco restaurant were two women in headscarves who made aggressive, glaring eye contact with me of a sort that is not normal in Egypt– especially from women.

I turned away, then looked back five seconds later and they were doing the same thing. My suspicion is that these were plainclothes officers, though I have no idea what they were doing in the middle of Zamalek, or why they would have any interest in my rolling a piece of luggage up Marashli. Maybe they were trying to decide if I was a journalist.