Actors Syndicate March to Tahrir Gets Congested on Qasr el Nil Bridge

One of the many marches set to converge on Tahrir Square yesterday was the Actors Syndicate march, which began at the Culture Ministry in Zamalek around 4PM. Many in the march were chanting "meseeret el qabaqeeb" (literally, the march of wooden slippers), as protesters, many of whom were women, lifted wooden slippers into the air, signifying solidarity with the masses. Demonstrators chanted forfall of the Brotherhood regime as they marched downShagaret el Dor Street in Zamalek.

The demonstrators split up into three groups: the first maintained a weeks-old sit-in at the Culture Ministry, the second headed to Tahrir and the third to Ettihadeya, the Presidential Palace in Heliopolis. The syndicate also released a statement aligning itself with the popular Tamarod demonstrations against President Mohamed Morsi.

The performers, filmmakers and intellectuals that participated yesterday include Sameh El Serity, Jamal El Adl, Khaled Youssef, Angham, Hanan Motawie, Sohier El Morshedi, Randa Al-Behery, Mahmoud Kabel, Lubna Abd El Aziz, Manal Salama, Ahmed Seyam, Karim Abdel Aziz, Ragaa El Gedawi, Hany Ramzy, Elham Shaheen, Amira El Aidy, Nadia El Gendy and the presenter Hala Sarhan.

CBC reported yesterday that the march was initially unable to enter Tahrir Square, due to the unprecedented masses gathered there, which according to many news outlets surpassed the numbers that came out for the 2011 protests that ousted Hosni Mubarak.