Cairo Time

---

[Soft piano melody]

[Background chatter]

[Airplane roaring]

[Ruffling papers]

- Reason for visit?

- I'm here to see my husband.

[Stamping]

[Background chatter]

- Taxi! Taxi!

- No, thank you.

- Ms. Juliette?

- Oh.

- Unfortunately your husband

has been delayed in Gaza.

I'm Tareq.

His security officer

at the United Nations.

- Oh yes, yes,

of course! Tareq.

Oh, it's a pleasure

to finally meet you.

- It's a pleasure

to meet you, too. May I?

- Oh, thank you.

- Thank you.

Mark said he would call you

when you got to the hotel.

- Mark is all right?

- Mark is fine. Please.

- I've heard so

much about you.

- As I have about

you. This way.

[Traffic]

- Tareq! Tareq!

[Woman speaking in Arabic]

- Excuse me.

[Motorist honking]

Please.

- We would love to welcome you

to the wedding in Alexandria.

- Oh, excuse me. This is

a very old friend of mine.

And her daughter.

This is Ms. Juliette.

Um, I worked for her husband.

- For her husband.

Juliette. Like

Juliette and Romeo?

- Yes.

- How beautiful.

- Thank you.

- I am Yasmeen.

- Oh, Yasmeen. It's

a beautiful name.

- Shukran.

- We've been

invited to her wedding.

- Oh! Uh, well thank you,

and congratulations.

[Exchanging goodbyes in Arabic]

[Background chatter]

Thank you.

[Middle-Eastern music

on the radio]

Oh no, I haven't

had a cigarette

since I was a teenager.

- Do you mind if I...

- No.

[Channel changed to pop music]

Oh, no. I liked the one before.

- You're familiar

with Arabic music?

- No, not at all.

[Switching to previous channel]

- It is Umm Kulthum -

mother of Egypt.

- She has a

beautiful voice.

- Yes.

- The heat is remarkable.

- It is at its worst

at this hour.

- It's November.

- It's the first thing

tourists notice.

- How can anyone complain

about the heat when women

are dressed like that?

- They're accustomed to it.

How is your, uh, work?

The, uh, magazine, isn't it?

- Yes. Um, busy.

Always busy.

I'm happy to get away.

[Song in Arabic]

How long do you think the

flare-up at the camp will last?

- I don't know.

But Mark is okay.

- Oh, congratulations

on your retirement.

- Thank you.

- Do you miss it, the UN?

- No. I took my

father's coffee shop.

- I heard about that.

- It occupies me.

- Yeah. Mark says it's the best

coffee he's ever tasted.

- Naturally I would have

to agree with him.

- He also says it's not

the same without you.

- He has a good heart.

[Middle-Eastern song]

How are your children?

- Oh, they're good. Thank you.

Um, they're gone.

Out into the world.

Finally.

[Sarcastic laugh]

- Must be nice to have

more time to yourself now.

- My son is on his honeymoon

and Emily just

finished university.

She's having difficulty

though finding a job.

- What is her specialty?

- Creative writing.

What?

- How will she make a living?

- Well, she's doing

something she loves.

[Middle-Eastern song]

[Traffic]

I'm so glad

I finally came

to the Middle East.

- I never understood

this "Middle East." Middle...

Middle of where?

- Cairo.

- Cairo it is.

- [Man]:
Here's your passport.

- Thank you.

- And your key.

[Clinking]

- Any messages?

- No, I'm afraid not.

Oh, there is this one

envelope waiting for you.

- Oh.

Everything's fine.

- If there is anything

you should need, please.

- Uh, how do you say

thank you in Arabic?

- Shukran. Shukran.

- Shukran.

- You'll be fluent

in no time.

[Background chatter]

[Soft music]

[Traffic outside]

[Motorist honking]

[Phone ringing]

[Picking up the phone]

- Hel- hello?

Oh, Mark!

Where are you? Hi.

[Clearing her throat]

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes