On Saturday, February 12, Egypt awoke for the first time in 30 years without Hosni Mubarak as president. As a new order dawned on the country, it seemed that anything was possible. Youth handed out flyers imploring fellow citizens to change the way they think about everything from littering, to driving, to the treatment of women. Volunteer teams moved about the city, sweeping streets and cleaning graffiti. Despite the optimism, all was not well. Among the hundreds of thousands still celebrating in Tahrir Square, a dedicated core of protesters remained, insisting that their demands – from the dissolution of parliament to the withdrawal of emergency laws – had not been met. Their hopes led to confrontation with an army looking to restore Cairo to normal.
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Scenes from Tahrir Square: The New Normal