No photo encapsulates that reality than this picture from Mersa Matruh in the country's north coast (west of Cairo).
The city (metro population: 140,000) saw large protests in the aftermath of the coup that deposed President Mohamed Morsi, and on Thursday residents were calling for civil disobedience in the wake of the military's brutal crackdown on Pro-Morsi supporters.
Not everyone joined in. Here's the scene on the beach:
The new normal MT @_amroali @mzeld Egyptians at the beach while #matrouh city burns in the background #egypt pic.twitter.com/ZHnKbZ4LSA
— aris roussinos (@arisroussinos) August 15, 2013