Powder Room Politics

The other day I went to use a public restroom at a shopping mall only to find a sign posted on the door that read, "closed for renovations, please use the restrooms at the far end of the mall".   A bit panicky, my primal instincts kick in and I followed the woman in front of me (who possessed the same look) down a long corridor towards the prayer room.  Fact:  Did you know that no matter where you go in Cairo there is always a prayer room within walking distance?

Anyway, this particular woman wasn't covered or wearing the conservative galabaya, so I was pretty sure she wasn't going in there to pray and I had a sneaky suspicion that she knew of another "WC".  Hesitantly, I asked the prayer room attendant if there was a restroom inside and she nodded yes.

I stepped into a large tiled room with faucets coming out of the wall and a long bench in the center of the room.  Venturing into this mysterious oasis, I took a seat on the washing bench beside 3 other women (also waiting to use the toilet).    A woman pointed out to me that there was water on the bench, but unfortunately, it took a second too long for my brain to translate the Arabic to English (this didn't help my situation).  We sat there and waited.  I knew that walking to the other restroom would probably produce quicker results, but it was so quiet, and outside was so loud that to have a conversation with someone, you had to yell.   Since my husband and the kids were getting ice cream, I decided to look at this time as a mommy time out.  Women came and went.  They washed their feet, behind their ears, rinsed out their mouths 3 times, and fixed their head coverings.  We spent time in idle chit-chat and I enjoyed being apart of this tiny community around me.  As I looked around I noticed that everyone seemed to be having a great time and everyone was taking their time.  I wondered how many of these women were hiding out from noisy children.    At one point, I was surprised when a woman took off her galabaya and revealed a Neon Pink Micky Mouse tank top.  After all, one does wonder what one should wear under one's galabaya :).  I actually felt like I was in high school all over again.  I remember it like yesterday, my friends and I would all go to the restroom at the same time, not because we needed to use it, but just to chit-chat and be together.  Do you think that is another a primal instinct?