It was a good day for the first anniver­sary of the beginning of the Egyptian insur­rec­tion. Most of the past week has been grey, cloudy, an early khamsin filling the air with desert dust. Last night early arrivers to Tahrir Square were welcomed with a shower. But today was almost balmy as we set out from Dokki, across two bridges, and then to Tahrir Square. In the long and narrow streets, rimmed by tall buildings, shouted slogans echoed up and down: “Down with military rule!”

As we walked out from Dokki Square to the main street, the roar of the calls got louder and louder. A massive march was just ahead of us — easily 10,000 people. The par­tic­i­pants were not really cel­e­brat­ing. They were protest­ing. As we got into the crowded mass of the march, more and more of the marchers were repeating the refrain. They know that the first stage of the struggle is very far from con­sum­ma­tion. 10,000 political prisoners languish in prisons after having been tried before military tribunals. Over 1,200 are dead, and they have not received justice. “The SCAF and the bal­t­agiyya,” or the paid thugs of the military gov­ern­ment,“are the same thing,” said one protester as I walked by.

The press of people on Kasr El Aini, the bridge leading directly into the square, was tremen­dous: it took us an hour to cross it at a tortoise’s shuffle.