A celebratory mood presided over Cairo’s streets from the early hours of Thursday, as the nation braced for the inauguration of the “New Suez Canal”. Scores of citizens took to the streets, flaunting Egyptian flags of different sizes as well as posters of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi meanwhile arrived to Ismailia on Thursday afternoon donning military fatigues aboard the 150 El-Mahrousa Yacht, the first ship to pass through the Suez Canal after its inauguration in 1869. The president later changed into a civilian suit as he attended the inauguration ceremony. Meanwhile in Cairo, dozens of Egyptians gathered in downtown’s iconic Tahrir Square in celebration, amid heavy security presence. “The canal is a new national project for us and among the march of progress and achievements announced by President Sisi, which will be complete with eradicating terrorism,” said Nasser Mohamed, a 40 year old worker celebrating in Tahrir Square with his four children. At the garden in the centre of the square, the 50 year-old Um Mohamed sat, with the Egyptian flag printed over her cloak. “I am proud of my country and its army and president,” Um Mohamed told…
