Some of the questions asked included whether they were with the protesters or against them or whether they supported the incumbent government or believed in the legitimacy of the protest movement.

Some have expressed a kind of longing to be there in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, in the shadow of the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities that houses the remains of governments that long ago collapsed into the sands of time.

Whether they support the stability of the status quo or long for change, Egyptians in Jeddah agreed unanimously that, once again, Egypt will never be the same.

As they have done for a long time, Egyptians are using shisha cafes for their daily fixes of news and caffeine — gathering these days to discuss the protests back home with strong declarations of belief between draws from their water pipes.

“I have now made it a point to go to coffee shops every evening to follow news about Egypt,” said Ayman Arafah, an accountant at a supermarket who is from Al-Fayoum.

“This question (of whether one is for or against the protesters) has replaced other routine questions about the health, family and work,” said Sulaiman Al-Suwaifi, a marketing specialist in a private food company in Jeddah. “Whenever we meet, we have nothing to discuss or talk about other than what is going on right now in our country.”

From the educated doctor to the neighborhood plumber, all Egyptians are expressing their opinions on matters that, prior to Jan. 25, would have not ranked high on their list of preferred topics of conversation.

According to Mahmoud Al-Wardani, an architect working for a construction company in Jeddah, there tends to be two strains of discussion: either speculations of what will happen in Egypt in the weeks and months to come, or wholehearted support for the protests.

“Some of us want to know the realities of the country now and what will happen in the future while others are openly expressing their wholehearted support to the protesters,” he said.

Meanwhile, Saudi police continue their vigil at the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah to protect the premises and prevent possible disturbances.

Young Egyptians living in Jeddah have been most supportive of the protesters, saying their sympathies lie with families of those who have been killed since Jan. 25. And while most foreigners in Egypt have scrambled to flee the country due to the uncertainties, some Egyptian foreigners in Saudi Arabia are wishing they could be there.

“I wish so much to be in Egypt right now to be with my compatriots and friends in Tahrir Square,” said Aslam Seifeddine, a young Egyptian sitting in a coffee shop on Sitteen Street. “I want to see another picture from the one that drove me out of my country to look for a job elsewhere.”

Seifeddine is a college graduate who was unable to find employment in Egypt, so, like so many of his compatriots, he came to the kingdom of opportunity that is, for so many people, Saudi Arabia.

Muhammad Al-Bieli, who works at the industrial area in Jeddah, said all his countrymen he talked to were in favor of change, but change in a peaceful manner.