Blipfoto: Driven to Distraction

Sunday 26 September 2010: Hisham
Name: Hisham. Driving for: 30 years (15 of which as a 'Sowah Taxi'). Journey: Nasr Street to Soudi Market. Fare: 5LE. Additional information: Hisham has two boys called Ahmed and Hamed. He also has a rather posh tissue dispenser attached to the roof of his taxi! Photograph: David McEachan/Blipfoto

Monday 27 September 2010: Mishail
Name: Mishail. Driving for: n/a. Journey: Nasr Street to Degla. Fare: 5LE Photograph: David McEachan/Blipfoto

Tuesday 28 September 2010: Mohamed Name: Mohamed. Driving for: 20 years. Journey: Nasr Street to Seoudi Market. Fare: 5LE. Additional information: Mohamed lives in Maadi and has three daughters. His engine cuts out every time he stops, but you don't actually come to a stop often in Cairo, so it's not a problem! Photograph: David McEachan/blipfoto

Wednesday 29 September 2010: Tariq Name: Tariq. Driving for: 7 years. Journey: Degla to Grand Mall. Fare: 3LE. Additional information: Tariq, like many others, drives a taxi in addition to his main job as a government employee. The pay provided to those who work in government organisations is very low (less than 500LE per month in many cases), and so it is necessary to try and supplement income by whatever means necessary. For some, that means accepting 'under the table' money, for others it involves spending all your free time driving a taxi. Tariq is one of the only taxi drivers I've encountered who doesn't use his horn. Instead, he has hot-wired his car alarm to a switch which he uses instead! Photograph: David McEachan/blipfoto

Thursday 30 September 2010: Ayman Name: Ayma Driving for: 15 years, Journey: Grand Mall to Corniche, Fare: 5LE. The first thing Ayman asked me when I got him chatting was whether or not I was a Christian. I lied and said yes (atheists don't get very good press out here), after which he proudly showed me his Coptic tattoo, Jesus keyring and Last Supper dangly mirror decoration. Ayman has two kids (one boy, one girl) and lives somewhere between Helwan and Maadi. As we approached the Corniche, there was a bit of a jam, and therefore quite a lot of beeping. Reacting to my discomfort at the noise, Ayman popped his head out the window and started shouting at the guy behind to shut up, which he duly did with a big smile on his face! Class. Photograph: David McEachan/Blipfoto

Friday 1 October 2010: Mohamed. Name: Mohamed. Driving for: Not very long. Journey: Corniche to Degla. Fare: 7LE. Additional information: Mohamed likes his music loud and funky, so there wasn't much chance to chat. He was more than happy with the 7LE fare, which I was more than happy to give as he proved that I could take photos after sundown in the back of a taxi. I originally thought I'd have to stop this series when it got too dark, rather than use the dreaded flash at any rate. Photograph: David McEachan/blipfoto

Saturday 2 October 2010: Waleed. Name: Waleed. Driving for: 7 years. Journey: Road 9 to Degla. Fare: 5LE. Additional information: Waleed lives in Maadi, likes Amr Diab and Omnia Soliman (like me) and has a DVD player integrated into his sun-visor. How bling is that?! Photograph: David McEachan/blipfoto