Why do people still pick up the phone and call each other these days? It is a question a lot of young people, especially Gen Z, find themselves asking. With texting, DMs, and social media, staying updated is just a tap away.
Sometimes, a like on someone’s wedding photo or a quick message feels like enough to count as keeping in touch. But it was not always this easy. In the past, staying connected took real effort, which is exactly why people went out of their way to make it happen. It often meant standing in long lines or paying a hefty amount of money to simply make a single call from a public telephone booth.
Yet, because it took more effort, it also meant you had to be intentional, and that made those moments of connection feel so much more meaningful. You knew that every call came with a cost, whether it was time, money, or both.
When most people think of old-school telephone booths, the classic red British one usually comes to mind. It is easily one of the most iconic examples of historic communication, although the UK was not the only country with them. Countries all over the world, including Egypt, had their own versions of telephone booths since the 20th century that blended right into the city’s vibe and architecture.
Egypt initially began introducing public telephone booths around the mid-20th century, particularly during the post-1952 revolution era, a time marked by rapid modernization and national development. As the country worked to expand its infrastructure, these booths started appearing in major urban centers like Cairo and Alexandria.
Operated by the state, these telephone booths quickly became an essential part of everyday life. People relied on them for everything from professional calls and family check-ins to emergencies and international conversations.
In Egypt, the telephone booth was often painted in bright yellow and blue, a color combination that has become instantly recognizable in old photos shared online. Unlike the bold red booths of the UK, which pop against London’s gray skies, Egypt’s telephone booths seemed to do both: they stood out and blended in, becoming part of the everyday landscape while still holding their own as a visual icon.
Somehow, these little telephone booths became more than just a way to make a call, they started to reflect the culture around them. Even though most of them are not in use anymore, they still live on in people’s memories as nostalgic symbols of a different time, holding a special place in cultural history and heritage.
These memories live on through films and photographs, now digitized and shared online, providing a glimpse into what it was like to use a telephone booth in Egypt. One example is the classic film Cairo Station (1958), directed by the legendary Youssef Chahine.
Early in the film, there is a moment when a woman asks a newspaper vendor at the train station for money to spend a few extra minutes on a call at the telephone booth. It appears to be a simple exchange, yet in that brief moment, something deeper stirs: the first flicker of a connection as he becomes aware of her beauty.
Even if it was a quick exchange, those random telephone booth conversations could sometimes turn into something more meaningful.
There is also another scene in the film Al Mamar (The Passage, 2019), where one of the officers is stuck waiting over an hour just to talk on the phone. The whole moment captures the chaos of that time; people crowding around, anxious to hear from their loved ones, phones ringing nonstop, voices overlapping as everyone tries to grab a few precious minutes on the line.
The tension builds until the officer finally snaps. After waiting for more than three hours, he loses his cool and yells at the man managing the booth hours, setting off an emotional confrontation that shows just how intense and personal these moments of connection really were.
While some film scenes captured the intense, emotional side of the telephone booth experience, others took a more playful approach. In Andaleeb El Dokki (2007), for example, there is a hilarious moment where Fawzi, a sweet, humble man dreaming of becoming a famous singer, tries to turn a telephone booth into his own little promotional space. He plasters it with his photos, hoping to get noticed and make some money.
But, of course, in true comedic fashion, the whole thing falls apart while he is still building it. The scene is both light-hearted and heartwarming, showing how phone booths were often tied to people’s hopes, hustle, and dreams.
The telephone booth also pops up all over digital platforms too, often used to tap into that nostalgia for a simpler time, when making a phone call was the only real way to reach someone far away.
Even though phone calls are not as common as they used to be, the image of the telephone booth still sticks around as a cultural symbol. It reminds us of a time when staying connected took effort, and maybe meant a little more because of it.
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