The Globe and Mail

The moment of truth in this popular uprising may well have taken place in Tahrir Square at 3:47 Sunday afternoon. That's when two Egyptian Air Force fighter jets flew overhead at high speed and full volume. It was clearly an effort to intimidate the thousands of people gathered there, especially as a curfew was to start at 4 p.m. The response of the crowd was immediate and clear: They applauded, whistled, then broke into a chant of “Allahu akbar” [God is Great]. The jets returned again and again over the next half hour, one time flying just above the tops of the buildings, so low that the ground shook. Each time the people's response was the same. They were not to be swayed.

An Egyptian man uses his mobile phone to take a picture of the Arcadia shopping center, that was looted, damaged and set on fire by people in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday Jan. 30, 2011.— Lefteris Pitarakis/The Associated Press

Sunday morning, normally a business day, and the roads of Cairo were empty of cars but filled with the detritus of a night of violence and looting. An expensive mall was completely emptied and set on fire, the black smoke filled the sky till after noon. Burned out cars and smashed windows were evident in open areas, while many smaller residential streets were blocked by pile of rocks, furniture, even tree branches, put there by local residents who stood guard over their neighbourhoods. Embers of overnight fires still glowed. Wielding iron bars or wooden clubs, residents looked suspiciously at every car or unknown person that approached.

A protestor gestures to riot police in front of the l-Istiqama Mosque in Giza on Jan. 28, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt.— Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Events such as these bring out surprising things in people. Hisham Kassem was founding editor of Egypt's only independent newspaper, Almasry Alyoum. He also was the chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, and vice-president of the political party of Ayman Nour, the opposition presidential candidate in the last election. Mr. Kassem is the kind of man who wears a suit to a demonstration. On Friday night he found himself on the 6th of October Bridge crossing the Nile to the downtown. There the crowd encountered violent police action, including tear gas and shotguns turned on them. The crowd responded – even Mr. Kassem. “I was so angry at these goons I found myself picking up rocks and throwing them. I even went over and tore the mirror off one of their vehicles.” The battle of the bridge opened the road to Tahrir Square and sent police packing.

Egyptian men sit as they try to protect from looting the Arcadia shopping center, that was already partially looted, damaged and set on fire by people in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. Cairo residents boarded up homes and set up neighborhood watches of citizens armed with guns, clubs and knives as looting and violence engulfed the capital.— Lefteris Pitarakis/The Associated Press

With no uniformed police in sight, civilians took over the task of directing traffic in many districts. There was a neatly dressed man in suit and tie efficiently signally to cars at one of the larger intersections on Zamalek, the island in the middle of the Nile. On several roads, neighbourhood watch groups set up checkpoints – even in the very poor neighbourhood of Imbaba, where my driver and I encountered the strictest of the dozen or so checkpoints we passed through. The people living in that neighbourhood were determined to protect what little they have against any looters or rioters.

A child sits on a tank while a Egyptian soldiers stands by during a demonstration against President Hosni Mubarek in al-Tahir Square on Jan. 29, 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. — Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Egyptian army tanks and armoured personnel carriers with heavy-duty machine guns mounted on top have been deployed all over the city, concentrated around government buildings, major squares, banks and foreign embassies. (Just one tank sits outside the President's residence.) Almost uniformly, the soldiers have been greeted enthusiastically by the people, with many trying, and some succeeding, to climb aboard and embrace the soldier in the hatch. Almost all the armoured vehicles have been adorned with graffiti scrawled with felt pens: “Down with Mubarak,” “We are all Egyptians” and “Freedom” are popular. The tank outside the President's residence appears not to have been written on.

Protestors burn a portrait of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and loot furniture in Suez, Egypt.

The wealthy old neighbourhood of Zamalek, the island in the middle of the Nile, was pretty much untouched by looting, benefiting from the protection provided by the many embassies and official residences in the area. The newer, upscale neighbourhood of Mohandissin, however, was hit hard. Several store fronts on the commercial thoroughfares were smashed and the goods inside pillaged. Most of the newer, swanky shops lacked the kind of ugly metal shutters that saved shops in the older downtown. Many attempted to hide their goods by painting their windows white or draping colourful cloths over them – often to no avail. Outside one luxury shoe store, three black leather boots still lay in a mud puddle on the road. At the end of the street, at a local police station, non-uniformed policemen sat on the steps cradling AK-47s. They were guarding their station, but had no intention of going onto the street.

A woman sells bread in Cairo, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. The Arab world's most populous nation appeared to be swiftly moving closer to a point at which it either dissolves into widespread chaos or the military expands its presence and control of the streets.— Lefteris Pitarakis/The Associated Press

Lineups formed Sunday in many neighbourhoods, particularly outside bakeries where state-subsidized bread is available, and at gas stations, only some of which were open. Grocery stores that did open were packed with shoppers loading up on non-perishable foodstuff. However, there was no sense of panic, only a fear of what the night might bring in the form of roving looters and rioters.