30 Things To Know about Cairo & Egyptians
- Cairo
I spent the last year living in Cairo through its chaos and ridiculousness, enjoying its unpredictability and contradictions to the fullest. You either love Cairo or you hate it. If you can’t learn to let go of your expectations and laugh at your disasters the city will only make you cry and pull your hair out. In order to survive Cairo you just kind of have to accept it for what it is; the chaos is kind of charming, and it grows on some of us. Despite all the hell Cairo gave me, I will always have a place in my heart for it (mostly because of my dear friends that are still there, inshallah they are always safe). That said, it’s not for everyone, but here are some tips everyone should know about Cairo and Egyptians before traveling or living in Egypt.
- Egyptians have no sense of time. Add 2.5-4 hours to determine accurate Egyptian time. “Mumpkin Bukra Inshallah” (probably tomorrow, God willing. = never!)
- Get used to “Egyptian time.” Forget early bird gets the worm. No one wakes up early. Egyptian bedtime is typically between 2 and 4AM. Get on the Egyptian routine.
- Bargain for EVERYTHING. You are foreign and they will rip you off anyways, but at least you can reduce the damage. Here’s your chance to practice your negotiation skills.
- Traffic is a mystery, sort of. It’s predictably slow, so be aware of this for important appointments, like catching flights! You’re best traveling really early in the morning, which is almost impossible in Egypt. A safer bet is traveling in the middle of night. At least you didn’t die in traffic! Get a data plane on your smart phone or other device for the many hours you will spend stuck in traffic.
- The Nile is GROSS. It’s Cairo’s garbage can….but even with that mentality, they still can’t keep the garbage off the streets! Sad fact.
- More often than not, do not go to Tahrir/Downtown on a Friday. More likely than not there will be a protest, and you never know when it can get out of control. Tear gas and molotov cocktails aren’t as fun as you might think.
- Forget Hong Kong: Cairo is truly the city that never sleeps. Where else in the world will you see women or families out at 2 AM? This is one of the great perks that I always cherish and continue to miss.
- Koshary is power food. Cheap and delicious power food. It’s full of carbs, but it’s everyone’s occasional guilty pleasure. Don’t scrimp on the garlic sauce! Abu Tarek in downtown is delicious.
- Don’t throw toilet paper in the toilet! Put it in the trash so you don’t destroy the plumbing systems. Wondering what that hose in the bathroom was for? Now you know! That’s also why you don’t eat with your left hand.
- Don’t drink the tap water: Unless you have an iron stomach or like food poisoning. If you do run out of tap water and are too lazy to go out or too incapable to order more water, try making lime water. Boil the water and chill it. Keep limes or lemons at home and squeeze them into the water; it makes it much less horrible tasting.
- Don’t go around dressing Oriental wearing everything you bought in Khan El Khalili. It’s EMBARRASSING. You (expats/foreigners) look like a cleaning lady from the village, because those are the only people in Egypt who really dress like the way you are imagining. Everyone has their own Lawrence of Arabia fantasy, but wearing these things are a dead-giveaway that you are a newcomer study abroad or a tourist.
- Zamalek is overrated. It is not the only cool place to go. It is an exclusive expat bubbles and not an accurate view of Cairo or Egypt. Heliopolis has a number of lovely restaurants, cafes, and other cool hangout spots. Korba is one of my favorite parts of Cairo, and has amazing architecture and unique cafes. Downtown does too, but it’s not always safe to go due to protests, and traffic is terrible. I also love some of the cafes near Azhar and Muattem. (Other friends of mine like Maadi, Dokki & Mulhandeseen)
- Everyone smokes. Pretty much…I’m not a fan of it either, but you’re in a developing country, so there isn’t much you can do about it. If you can’t handle that, then Egypt might not be the place for you.
- Egyptians do drink, but not everyone. Bars have been in the country for hundreds of years, and Stella and Heineken are no strangers to Cairo. Don’t assume people drink though, and girls realize that guys inviting you to drink probably don’t have the best intention for you.
- Egyptian guys don’t marry girls they have sex with. 99% of the time, even if Egyptian guys are modern or “international,” they still wouldn’t marry or take seriously a girl that they date and have casual sex with. At the end of the day, Egyptian guys are pretty traditional.
- Service is terrible. Most often times they will get your order wrong, and it will take ages to even order, let alone get the check. Be persistent and creative with getting their attention, but also don’t let it stress you out. If you’re living in Cairo, being in a hurry really won’t work, and getting mad won’t change much.
- Don’t live in Rehab. Trust me. Unless you have a family and really can’t handle the city, and then you should probably not be in Cairo anyways. It’s a stale and boring gated community that has all the bad parts of Suburbia without the luxuries in the outskirts of smoldering Cairo. Water and electricity shortages are frequent, and it’s in the middle of the desert. It’s hell for singles living alone. (Rehab is a popular and elitist gated community in the desert on the edge of Cairo in an area called New Cairo)
- No matter what your Cairene friends say, Cairo isn’t all of Egypt. There is life outside the city, and it’s a lot cleaner than Cairo. Alexandria and many other cities are beautiful and less crowded/polluted.
- Go to Sinai: It’s AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL & not as dangerous as everyone tells you. It has some of the most incredible beaches and greatest diving in the world. Go there if you can, but if you are really worried about safety and 100% want to make sure you have a way to get back to Cairo in a timely fashion, consider flying. The road isn’t the safest, and foreigners have to wait long at check points. Sometimes there are fuel shortages, and it can be hard to get back to Cairo.
- The pyramids are dirty and full of thugs who will harass you and hit you up for money. It’s hard to enjoy the world’s wonders when you are annoyed. Take pictures of camels and they will charge you. You will loathe taking guests there.
- The Egyptian Museum of history is awful. It is one of the most depressing museums you will ever go to. It’s like a big warehouse with things unlabeled and strewn everywhere. It’s exhausting; go there once, and make it quick. They don’t let you bring in cameras, but camera phones do the trick.
- Say “yaani” for every three words you say; it makes you sound local, and tricks you into thinking you speak half decent Arabic. It will become a unconscious habit soon.
- Egypt has pretty good dates (the food that is), and they are affordable, so enjoy them while you can.
- Go to Dokki for awesome food. Try the hole-in-the-wall Yemeni, Sudanese or other delicious places.
- For the best Asian food in Cairo, go the area around Azhar. It’s a little bit sketchy and people there don’t speak English, so bring an Egyptian, or wait until you live in Cairo a bit before you try to venture there for some cheap and delicious eats.
- Go to Azhar Park for a retreat. It’s a pleasant green surprise, and it has a great view of the city and the citadel for sunset.
- AUC is seriously overrated. It may be one of the best universities in the Middle East, but that’s not saying a lot. Quality does vary with programs and departments, but seriously think twice before you consider being a full time student there.
- Relax: Egyptians aren’t as scary as they seem. They might seem pretty irrational or drive you crazy sometimes, but they are fairly harmless. Egypt is a developing country, so you have to stay aware of your surroundings, but Egyptians aren’t going to mug you like they do in Oakland or New York. Be savvy about your stuff and don’t act oblivious, but in many cases, you are safer in the Middle East than in America.
- Nothing is guaranteed. So when plans change, roll with it. That’s how you stay sane and have a good time.
- Moussy malted beverages are amazing. Pomegranate is my favorite. Enjoy it while you are there; they are delicious.
Even with all of this, I STILL LOVE EGYPT! …maybe I’m crazy?
By economist & writer, Heather R Morgan (@HeatherReyhan)
I still love the place!
Bedouin women in Sinai that I bought way too many crafts from
Near Nuweiba, Sinai
Reblogged this on Thoughts of a young chef.
Thanks for reblogging this, and I really appreciate your readership! Cool blog!
-Heather (Reyhan)
when i started reading the first 2 or 3 points, my mind was like okay here we go, target enemy!!
then i continue reading as i finish line after line, & at the end of the article, i was wrong, i rushed into accusing anyone of telling the truth of some bad things in my country that he is enemy! somehow its not about hate, but i think im gonna call it love, jealousy, im in love story with Egypt, that`s what really describes me when i finished reading your article, felt happy!! mm no not the word! yes felt warm, its my home! i`m sorry for anything bad u saw but i think that hopefully after all the latest revolution thing going, we`re gonna care about our Egypt more, one day, the whole world will see this country the way i see it, the most beautiful, warm, relaxing, welcoming, country, the most generous people, the most helpful peoples, hope that day come soon.
at the end, i totally agree on your 30 points, & really love your words. wish you the best ever
Egypt no matter how dirty he is, he has a soul unlike the cleanest cities without a soul. I am not Egyptian but Egypt in my heart
Thanks again for sharing! If you like food, cooking, and gastronomy, you might want to check out blogs such as by my friend Dr Wesam Masoud.
I found these points amusing, funny and true
Sorry you had to live in Cairo during the craziest of times in it’s history, revolution and everything! If I have to comment on anything it would be that I drink tap water up here in Alex and I’m still alive lol (although Egyptians themselves take pride they got iron stomachs), horrible service depends on the place really, and let me tell you as an Egyptian I HATE THE PYRAMIDS (We are reaaallly not taking care of the most precious things we got -Pyramids and other monuments-, and you are right about the museum too)!
But all in all, looks like you got your Egyptian experience right, it is that kinda place that you have a very complicated love/hate relationship with. We even got a song that says that Egypt is everything and the opposite!
So glad I live in Alexandria, muuuch better in everything, next time head up north 😀
Thanks for reading & commenting!
It was quite an experience indeed, but I knew (somewhat at least) what I was getting myself into when I moved to Cairo. Enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean sea in Alex! I spent a lovely month there with family friends, and ate many delicious seafood dishes during that time. It is definitely a very experience than Cairo, but I have a hard time comparing the two because I stayed with an Egyptian family and had a very traditional Masry experience (I felt like I was back in Eastern Turkey with relatives), so things were not very wild or exciting like my time spent galavanting around Cairo at 3AM with my Egyptian friends. I think Alex is generally a much calmer place though regardlessly.
Well, when I read your title, I thought “o oh, scandal time” but I really liked your points and agree with almost all of them. It seems you’ve pretty much grasped the core of life in Cairo. I do agree with Egyptian guys being traditional no matter how “open-minded” they try to convince you they are and I LOVE Koushari too.
It really depends on how you see it. See, many of your points can be considered to give foreigners a hell of a time in Egypt (and believe me, they do to many Egyptians too) but you chose to put it in a humorous, light way.
Foreigners can either love Cairo/ Egypt or hate it but Egyptians love it and hate it at the same time. We’re all trapped in this love-hate relationship, we’re driving it crazy and it’s driving us crazy too.
Thanks anyway and hope you’ll always come back and always enjoy it.
Best of luck.
Thanks for your response! I really enjoyed reading it. I think you really hit on the point that it “depends on how you see it.” In many cases, the things I wrote could be seen positively or negatively, depending on who you are. In an odd way, even “Egyptian sense of time,” was actually a blessing to me at first. When I first moved to Egypt, I was escaping from a corporate rat race in Hong Kong, and I was mentally and physically exhausted. The slower pace of life in Egypt can be frustrating at times, especially when you are trying to get things done and meet deadlines, but other times I really appreciate it. Indeed, I used to vacation in the Middle East (usually Lebanon) to avoid the hustle and bustle of working/living in East Asia.
I also like how you pointed out that both foreigners and Egyptians can either love and/or hate Egypt. Just as there are many types of Egyptians, I think there is also a variety of foreigners in Egypt. Their backgrounds, reasons, perspectives, income, education, and culture all differ. In many cases I felt I had more in common and agreed more with Egyptians from Heliopolis (and other places) than some of the foreigners at the AUC.
I will come back again, definitely! This whole conversation about this post is making me so nostalgic for that chaotic place!
Interesting read, agree with almost all what you said. But have two observations:
” Egypt is a developing country”. Thanks for letting us know. It has been developing for over 5000 years now, unfortunately.
“That is why they don’t eat with their left hand” , presumably because they use the shataffa to clean their asses? Never heard of that, Egyptians eat with left, right hand and everything in between. And by the way, the same could be said of the westerners who do so with only toilet paper and no water. They still have to reach there. The trick is to wash your hand afterward. Sorry for TMI, but I thought that there should be a more logical clarification.
Thanks for reading. I understand your frustration with the progress. It’s unfortunate such an old civilization as Egypt is still considered a “developing country,” but based on GDP per capita and many economic factors, it still is. Perhaps you prefer the term “emerging market?”
Traditionally, culturally speaking, Muslims (including Turks) don’t eat with the left hand because of shataffa. I’m not saying EVERYONE complies with this, but this is an old custom/saying.
Well Hez,
Looks like you didn’t enjoy at all except for Koushary, well you came to cairo when it was after a revolution and you can go through history and you will find that whats going on there is nothing for a revolution where there was no police anyways sorry for my bad grammer but i was getting ready to sleep 🙂
Come back in a few months you will def. enjoy 🙂
On the contrary—I enjoyed Cairo a lot! The koushary was great though, and I was actually craving it very much today. I realize Cairo was definitely at one of its crazier times in history when I lived there, but I would still argue Cairo/Egypt are always a wild place, at least compared with the monotony of the West, no matter what. And that’s completely okay. That’s what makes me appreciate Egypt and other emerging markets like Vietnam. Thanks for writing your thoughts, and I hope you continue to read!
Cheers,
Heather/Reyhan
mostly overrated critique of Egypt by a snobbish expat
I’d hardly call myself a snobbish expat, but the critique was meant to be more humorous than anything. Sorry if you didn’t take it that way. Just to clarify–I love Egypt and Cairo, despite its chaos (that’s part of why I love it), and many of my closest friends in life are Egyptian. I still miss the place.
Egyptians Take Sarcasm Seriously…
Haha I’m noticing. Very reactive.
I don’t understand the expats who wax on about koshari, Come on, it’s a pile of tasteless starch. No Egyptian would wax on about it like that so you don’t need to either.
Well everyone has their own opinions and tastes. It’s not the best food in Egypt, but it foes taste really good from time to time. It’s a really cheap carbo load. I definitely prefer foul and moussaka (Turkish and Arab) though.
LOL! EGYPTIAN AND GUILTY! 😀
Glad you liked it! Thank you for reading, and I hope you continue! Feedback is always welcomed.
-Heather/Reyhan
after all of this you still love Cairo and Egypt? lol I’m Egyptian and I hate it. it’s good to know what others think of my homeland
Lol, it’s sort of a strange unconditional love. It’s kind of hard to explain or justify, but I do. Maybe it’s like “Stockholm syndrome”? lol
Hi Heather,
I’m an Alexandrian currently living in the ‘stale & boring’ Rehab & really enjoying settling with kids n the greenery at night after long frustrating rally down-town to and fro Dokki where my office is sadly located!
I like reading “Les Outre” ‘s thoughts about my beloved Egypt – I hope you’ve been to Alexandria (my home town) it’s totally different with touch of the Mediterranean – it way better than crazy Cairo.
We are in a turmoil nowadays with a revolution & counter-revolution grinding the country & the people – it’ll take at least a decade to return to normal – I’d like to hear your thoughts as ‘an economist and business consultant’ about the political & economical Egypt from how you see it not from CNN or BBC 🙂
Salam
Thanks for reading! You are very correct that the love-hate relationship is kind of mixed. Sometimes it feels like a rollercoaster. I know I had days I hated Cairo–ER visits for an infection in my lungs caused by over-exposure to air pollution and getting into a nearly fatal car accident were days I hated the place, but on whole I love it for the friends I met and the experiences I took away that will stay with me for life.
May be you use “Yani” to give an impression of a local but you know more about Cairo than many people who lived in it all their lives. Very well written and objective review. Will just disagree with either love or hate part; I was born and grew up in Cairo yet I have a confusing love-hate relationship with it. I guess because of its unpredictable nature.
Anyway, many thanks for an entertaining read
Michael—I wrote this post as a parody/sarcastic critique, but everything I said is also true, despite my exaggerative language. I’m sorry if you misinterpreted that.
I also wrote this one as well. http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
My point of view is hardly from an American one; it’s much more from a Turkish one, and also an expat who has lived in 7 countries and counting. I’m hardly the typical American. Likewise, I didn’t come to Egypt for money. I came to Egypt because I believed in Arab Spring and I felt passionately about doing economic work in the MENA region because I believe in the potential of its youth and entrepreneurship. If I wanted money, I would have stayed working in the financial sector in Hong Kong.
Very strange that all your 30 points were negative !!! anyway it is your right to see Egypt as you want. but I think it would be more fair if you could mention the positive points from staying there, and if there is no positive points the question will back to you how you can waste your time in very bad country just for money ??!! You are American which is country of joyful, money, human rights,…….. & freedom at least from your point of view as Americans 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi, Thanks for reading and commenting Bakoush. I actually have lived in other crowded cities and developing countries, and I have seen traffic in Istanbul, Hanoi, Mexico city and so forth. I have seen how polluted Ankara is, so I know what it’s like living with bad air, but that doesn’t change the fact that these things are still a problem. I had a severe infection in my lungs from the pollution last winter, and many of Egyptians suffer from respiratory problems from poor air quality.
I definitely miss the sun and warmth of Egypt as I sit in a cafe in foggy San Francisco, and also how cheap things are.
As for the relationships regarding sex and marriage, I cannot speak for every relationship in Cairo of course, but I have seen a number of serious relationships between Egyptian guys and foreign (not always Western) girls fall apart in the end because the guy’s family wanted him to marry a virgin. This I am sure is not true for everyone, but this point is actually something that was brought up by many of my male Egyptian friends as a cautionary warning to myself and other girls.
I’m sorry you didn’t think this article wasn’t deep enough, but it was a satirical list of 30 things. I may not be an Egyptian, but I think I have an accurate enough picture to write articles about the country I wrote part of a published socioeconomics book on.
If you would like to see my more positive comments about Cairo, please read this:
http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
There are many truth in what you say, I agree about the pyramids guys ther giving hell to very one, I agree that Egypt deserve a much better museum, I agree about the crazy trafic, but you did not visit the other museums in town and other cities, you did not see New Delhi or Mexico City traffic, the polluted north Mediterranea.
And Egypt has also many other faces, let’s talk about the sunny weather 365 days a year, the helpfull nature of the population, Luxor, Assouan, the Oasis, Alexandria, the north cost, the Red Sea, the affordable prices, cruises on the Nile, being few hours or few days, diversity of its history and culture, the first melting pot on earth, and much more.
I disagree that guys will not marry with girls they had sex with, they will if the relationship has been serious, but true no one will talk about it, it can be true for having casual sex, what about in the west, would one night stand be enough to marry.
You are right it is safer that most of all other cities I visited in the world, and I visited exactly 94.
Still I agree with you , Egypt you live and love unconditionaly, or you hate it. All is about warmth of a country and it’s population.
Finally I think that your article is not deep enough, and that your knowedge of this country is simply insufficient, whatever your good intentions are.
Regards
LOL 😀 … you really made my day .. every single word is totally right, of course not all Egyptians are with these bad habits but more than 80% are as you said, hope we will get better by time and inspire you in your next visit :D.
You should visit Luxor and Aswan as well they are the best in Egypt in my opinion and i am pretty sure you will love them.
Unfortunately u lived in Egypt in one of its darkest times .Hope when u come again u find it better. Haven’t u gone to Alexandria? Next time try to stay in Alexandria.and better to be in winter too You will find it very different
it is true critique however there are lots of stuff unmentioned about Egypt and Egyptians… Anyway any country has its good and its bad stuff but after all everyone visited Egypt, loved the expereince of the fun and meeting reall good people….. however we are now in deep shit cuz of Revoltion and Military Coup but we never change….. i’m away from my homeland and even i hate the current situation atm but i have homesickness very badly :(….. soon i will be back to my Paradise 🙂
I am an Egyptian Canadian and I lived in both countries… I really loved your honesty and its actually quite funny. Its quite sad when Cairo used to be the city where Europeans used to reside for its culture and living standards back in the 1840’s till the 1960’s. But you are actually right even though Cairo nowadays is not at its prime time and its living standards are inhumane, but I loved it even though i only lived there for only 2 years. Not to mention the guys made lots of fun about my Arabic. Even though I find Cairo not the best city as of living standards, but I believe the daily interactions with the Egyptians makes hell of a day. I never had so many stories and laughs in my life except when I knew Egyptians (Egyptians who grew up outside of Egypt are mostly boring but still crazy in their own ways). I think Egyptians have a unique way of making jokes and all their jokes are too extreme or just beyond craziness, especially when they make fun of themselves. Which is good because they know there is something wrong with their life. I gotta say those 2 years I spent in Cairo had a great impact on me and made me gain this crazy creativity joke setting skill. I think Egyptians are socially smart, and nerdy in their own ways, but the problem is they deserve a much better environment and I believe they can dramatically change (at least with the timing issue and i am glad some of them know its wrong). I am optimistic about the new revolution I hope Egypt would actually change within 5-10 years w Sabahoo assaal ya berence el gens
Really nice article, I enjoyed reading it.
Honestly, What you have mentioned is the true, Even us (Egyptian) it is hard for us to live there, that’s why there are 10 millions living/working outside Egypt. and i am one of them.
BUT, We still/always love it so much deep in our hearts.
I hope that it will become better soon, and you can visit it again.
Regards,
I think its funny but on the other hand its very disrespectful…How you LOVE Egypt and you are saying all these bad things about it…I think you are doing a very bad job if you want ppl to like Egypt…Egypt is the best really but maybe you weren’t lucky enought to explore it
i think its funny but very disrespectful…how come you love Egypt and you say all these bad things about it…I think you weren’t lucky enough to visit the real Egypt…and how come you like Egypt this much and you are blogging something that will make people hate it…sorry but Egypt is much better than this…
well,realy your words have touched me from deep inside.i love cairo too amd it’sn’t a Stockholm Syndrome 🙂 …it’s the chaos genius or something like that…..wanna tell u that Cairo love u also 🙂
I want to thank everyone for reading my satirical article about my experiences and observations about Egypt, and also thanks for the comments, both positive and negative (I always appreciate feedback!). To those who thought I was too critical of Cairo, I wonder if you read the post I wrote after it back in May:
http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
I just want to say again that this article was meant to be humorous, and therefore for the sake of comedy I did use a lot of strong words such as “ALWAYS” and “NEVER,” which are exaggerations, but I still stick by my statements that these are all valid points. I’m sorry if people see it as disrespectful or too negative, but these are all reality to some extent or another. I wasn’t a tourist in Egypt, and I wasn’t a “snobby expat.” I lived, worked and studied in Cairo for a year and I’m Turkish-American, so the Middle East isn’t an exotic romanticized place for me like it is to some Westerners. I also know Egypt at a very intimate level due to the nature of my time spent there, both personal and professional. As an economist doing development research on food security policy and socioeconomics of the Middle East, I scrutinized the macro and micro economy of Cairo from both data and field research. Knowing the details of corruption, pollution, food scarcity, poverty, inflation, unemployment, and other economic factors was my job.
Egypt is going through a tough time right now, as are other Arab Spring nations such as Tunisia. I hope Egypt improves, and its startup ecosystem definitely has opportunities for innovation and progress, but the government must support it and foster the right opportunities for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish if this will happen. I realize that Egypt was a very different place before the revolution, but many things in Cairo were still the same, as they are today. The traffic and air pollution wasn’t a new phenomenon, and it’s not going to disappear overnight without good policy.
Yes I have been to Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, and a variety of other lovely places. Honestly, my favorite is Sinai. The place just speaks to my soul, especially Nuweiba. Alexandria is beautiful and has amazing food; I actually lived there for about a month with family friends, but I actually had much more fun living in Cairo. Luxor was a bit touristic for me, but Aswan was lovely, and I wish I had more time to explore the place.
I still love Egypt, and I look forward to my next visit to Cairo to see my wonderful and humorous Egyptian friends.
unfortunately what you wrote is the truth., this is Egypt that we Egyptian don’t like.but soon we will get our Egypt the one we used to appreciate and love we will get it back.
wrong
Don’t know if anyone told you that before, but #9 is wrong. The reason you don’t throw toilet paper in the toilet is that it might cause you plumbing problems and you do not want that. The hose beside the toilet (or sometimes bulit-in inside) is a much easier hands-off way to clean up your “you know what”.. Afterwards, you can use the paper to wipe it dry.. This is much cleaner than wiping right away with whatever hand you might be eating with later without rinsing with water first!
The reason you don’t eat with your left hand is simply an Islam thing called Sunnah.
And by the way, that hose is called “Shattafa” which means “The Rinser”.. Something every Egyptian misses when abroad.. I know people who had to shower everytime they took a dump.
I know what Shattafa is. We have it in Turkey, and have the same Islamic principals and plumming issues. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate toilet paper.
Cultural differences are something to be accepted and embraced, instead of defended. Pointing out contrasts isn’t necessarily a slight or something people have to be defensive about. Everyone has their own preference and that should be respected–just like the chpice between eating with chopsticks, forks, or your hands.
Well its not defending as much as explaining the right way it works. Reading point #9 would give someone the wrong ideas about how things are done. As if you get your hands all messy in the process :). If you only want to use the paper then that’s a personal choice of course. Cheers.
Fair enough. You have a valid point. Thanks for elaborating for everyone. I just don’t like the feeling of water splashing my butt; that’s just me.
Thanks heather for sharing your thoughts and experience…and I disagree with Egyptians who say that is wrong…because it is not a matter of right or wrong, it is just sharing of what she feels and what she saw from her prospective..and we as Egyptians need to develop our country to be the best for us and for our visitors..
i dun know y u mentioned every bad thing u met ! what about helpful kind people ! what about respecting cultures that u should understand !,
i guess being in a not amazing place it doesn’t mean that all EGYPT is like what did u just say ! , every area have its culture and traditions spoiled from its standards of living !
we have various actions and strange habits like everywhere !, even ur country have the same but with different language and color !
but i guess u guys will never have our hearts ! .. 🙂
Thanks for the comments Ammar! I appreciate your reading my article. I wanted to clarify something though—I didn’t just visit Cairo though; I lived and worked there for a year doing in depth economic research. I also had many Egyptian friends, so I wasn’t without a “guide.” I’m not really into the touristic places in general wherever I travel/live, but I did go to all the places you mentioned, and Nuweiba is definitely one of my favorite places in the world.
A really good conclusion for Cairo’s reality! however, your experience seems to be exciting than to be good, for facing such things and eventually still loving Egypt, i think you got influenced by the Egyptian spirit as we all do. you were totally right in every single word and as an Egyptian there are many worse things are yet to experienced you didn’t face, however, you missed a lot of the bright side of Egypt, there are a lot of great places to be visited “Aswan-Siwa-Alexandria-Ras Shitan”, in the next time i assure you would spend the most amazing journey here, but again you’ll need a local Egyptian companion to guide you! Good luck and well done for the good analysis!
Cairo is Hell !! .And half the hell is the transportation there with its noisy sound of Shaaby songs and its deadly people crowdness . And people there are infectious for stupidity , immorals and loss of good principles.
ur words r 100 % true. i really sympathize with forigners who their bad luck throw them in Egypt and especially Cairo. I am happy u enjoyed ur residence anyway 🙂
This is very true—these are definitely some reasons I love Cairo too. Feel free to read this article I also wrote instead. http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
I’ve been all around Egypt by the way–Alex, Sharm (not a fan–I much prefer Nuweiba), Aswan, etc.
U loved egypt because she deserves that love :))) may be you just went to the wrong places ..i am from alexandria and it is a charming place and we hate cairo too ..if you went to siwa or sharm el sheikh or aswan i am sure your opinion will be very different …and being able to walk in the streets at 4 am after a revolution for women and families is a luxury you don’t have in your country 🙂 next time just don’t go to cairo 🙂
Reblogged this on JesusNP and commented:
Pretty close to what my points of view from Caire were.
Thanks for reading and reblogging!
thats so offensive if Egyptian museum is awful and pyramids is trash go back to china and eat dogs instead !!!
Well replacing one stereotype with another is one way to go about things…
No one is eating dog in Hong Kong, which is independent of China.
What I said wasn’t meant to trash Egypt, but rather be more of a joke, but everything I said was based in truth, so I stand by what I wrote.
That was a fun read. I could tell that you enjoyed Cairo’s craziness and it is always refreshing to see my beloved city through the eyes of others. Agree with most of your points except that Zamalek rules 😊. I hope that the political stability returns to Egypt and you get to experience the city when it is back to its former glory. Good luck with your future endeavors 😊
Thanks for reading and responding Amr–I did love Cairo. Revisiting this post is making me very nostalgic.
I do enjoy Zamalek, but I do think it’s a bit overrated and relatively expensive compared to the rest of Cairo. It’s a lovely place, and one of my favorite places in Cairo, but I think often both Egyptians and expats forget that there are other cool places to go in Cairo. I discovered a lot of really cool places in Heliopolis but also obscure areas like Mouatem. I even enjoy Downtown Cairo a lot when its not at its most chaotic.
I really hope the best for Cairo/Egypt and that the country becomes more stable and can begin to fix its socioeconomic issues.
Thanks!
-Heather / Reyhan
I live in Cairo & every word is true ..harsh but true 😀 but don’t say “Yani” so much except if you wanna sing that local song “yani yani yani mesh ha’mel keda tani ” 😀
& actually Pyramids & Egyptian museum used to be so good but the museum was rapped after the revelation .may be later on they’ll be better
& you have to go to Luxor & Aswan .
Anyways the country is not so good currently ,we are recovering from many falls along the last 3 years ,I hope that we don’t fall again
Last thing ,most of Egyptians can’t handle criticism ,so don’t be bothered if you read offensive comments
Thanks for your honesty
Hi Huda,
Thanks for reading and commenting; I appreciate it, and I’m glad you enjoyed the blog.
I think the issue of the Egyptian museum is more about how disorganized it is, which is something friends who lived in Egypt before the revolution (Egyptian and foreign) both told me about. The museum is full of amazing treasures, but they aren’t very organized. It feels like a warehouse with things strewn about, and many items don’t have clear labeling or information. The quantity is there, but the quality isn’t. I know the country is in a state of change and many things are still unsettled, so I think the touristic things are not and should not be a concern right now as much as more important things like inflation, unemployment and food security.
I’ve been to Luxor and Aswan, and I enjoy them, but Nuweiba is still my favorite place in Egypt out of its pure beauty.
Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Heather / Reyhan
I have the same feeling about Cairo like you but wish to know what do you mean about AUC 🙂
While I am sure the quality of academia varies from department to department, I did not see much quality in the many places I looked. I wasn’t a study abroad student but rather a graduate student, and the level of academic rigor was NOT there. In many cases it was comparable to my freshman year of college at University of California, if that. I’m not alone here—many graduate students from other departments at the AUC know what I’m talking about. Many professors are also not professional and do not respond to emails and are almost impossible to track down. I know numerous people who have been unable to graduate on time because of this, and it’s not acceptable. I could go on, but I will stop here. Some professors at AUC are very nice and also high quality, but there are many that are not. Speaking as someone who knew numerous faculty on a personal level, they would agree with my statements about poor quality of the institution on many grounds.
Alsalam alyekoum
First of all thanks for your article
Egypt is just acountry like all countries in the world have advantages and disadvantages and we egyptions love and accept it as acabbage iagree with u in every word u say and hope my counrty be the best one but like we say in egypt masr helwa be ahlaha
What a shame to see Egypt from such a narrow minded, biased, uninformed and bigoted view, you have selectively put forth all the negativities which you have encountered in Egypt, failing to point out any positives…while most and vast majority of Foreigners who visit Egypt rise above the negative and are very happy to share their joys and pleasant experiences….I am really baffled why would you put up with such a place if nothing in it made you happy ?? there is obviously a reason, which you are not and will not share with others…I probably visited and lived in more Countries around the World than you did, but will never have anything derogatory to say about any of them…. I am a proud born Egyptian …and a proud American as well ….
i enjoyed it, despite i felt so bad about reading so bad stuff about my beloved country, but it’s what it is. i wish one day my country will be better and you write a new blog about it.
i believe this won’t be soon because no country may develop after a military coup, but i believe that it will be one of the most beautiful countries one day.
thanks for your BAD, GOOD, and honest blog and sorry for any inconvenience you suffered in my country,and sorry for my english 😀
Thanks for reading. I hope Cairo can improve too. I know these are some hard times, but not everything is as bad as it could be (like Syria–I know these are completely different situations, but still tragic). There are still many nice and good people, so there is hope, inshallah. Egypt still has a long ways to travel to fix its problems, but nothing is perfect. Sometimes it’s much easier to make big improvements in more chaotic environments because little changes can have a big impact.
What you don’t realize is there are some greedy expats living in Luxor working illegally in tourism spreading this post because they think it makes Cairo look bad in comparison to Luxor. You are enabling these ladies trying to destroy Cairo’s tourism.
I’m not so sure I believe that. What evidence do you have for that claim? Likewise everything I say is completely true about Cairo, aside from perhaps overly generalizing things (using always/never/etc). Luxor is very different than Cairo, and hard to compare because it’s a much smaller city in Upper Egypt, so it doesn’t have the crowds or pollution that Cairo does. However, it is also a terrible tourist trap full of people trying to rip off naive tourists with prices more than 10x what they should be.
As an Egyptian .. sadly , I’ve to admit that your words are entirely precise ..
you said more than time that Egypt is a developing country .. that explains a lot of things but the people’s attitude and mentality can not be explained .. the apathetic Collective consciousness in Egypt needs to be changed …
Anyway .. you’re such a Senior critic and observer .. I enjoyed your words so much
Thanks for sharing with us
Thanks for the compliments! My observations are based on living in Egypt and doing extensive socioeconomic research in the Middle East, as well as comparing my experiences in Cairo to other places in Turkey and the Middle East. I agree that there is a problem with the collective attitude, which is not easy to reshape, but hopefully it can begin to change for the better over time through grassroots movements and better policy. I can say from a Turkish perspective that there is hope and things can improve under the right conditions and governance; Turkey has completely transformed itself in the last 10 years, and even made significant improvements in the last 4 years. Things are still far from perfect in Turkey (nowhere is ever perfect), but this gives me hope for Egypt. Things can go either way though, and it’s not through the storm yet.
I want to thank you about the whole article, however, it is sad but it’s truly made and based on facts and months of observation. Let me tell you something you might have heard of; Egypt is in an unconditional phase; Chaos, political conflicts and protests, That makes many feel free to do whatever they want, so we’re in a critical position and many officials are responsible for. I hope you come to Egypt when it gets better and one my behalf, sorry fore everything bad you were vulnerable to and thanks for your caring ❤ 🙂
Thanks for the love! I really like the term “unconditional phase.” I think that’s very true. I think too many people use the chaos and instability to commit indiscretions, but also think this comes from people’s dissatisfaction with where society is going and the governments’ shortcomings. I think many young people, especially men, feel especially hopeless these days with unemployment and the rising cost of living, making it harder to get married and live without their parents. These growing frustrations match the spike in crimes such as sexual harassment and gang rapes. This is and other malicious acts are unacceptable, but the current problems in Egyptian society run deep in the fabric of socioeconomic issues neglected by the government for 30+ years.
I will definitely return to Egypt again, and I hope things will be on a brighter path, inshallah.
Even with all of this, I STILL LOVE EGYPT! …maybe I’m crazy?
no your not, this is Egypt what you said is totally true a lot of disasters but in the same time you enjoy and have fun simply this Egypt and we love it.thank you.
Hurghada on November 14, 2013 at 2:53 pm said:
I was live in Egypt, They are just simply idiots, 99,9 % of them !
** I think it’s pretty clear and obvious who’s the Idiot here, Probably the one who missed grammar class.
I was live in Egypt, They are just simply idiots, 99,9 % of them !
(Even with all of this, I STILL LOVE EGYPT! …maybe I’m crazy?)
No you are not crazy, Every word you wrote is totally right but This is Egypt with all these disasters but you cant stop yourself to fall in love with her why?? i don’t know. I really thank you for your great article and if you someday come back to Egypt you are welcome.
Funny post… I lived in Cairo for many years… and loved the whole experience… both the good and the bad. I have a few differences with your list. I always flushed the TP down the toilet and never had a problem with the plumbing. (lived in Dokki and Zamalek) And my absolute favorite thing is the museum – my favorite in the world actually. I suppose that it is a matter of how serious you are about Egyptology. If you have merely a passing interest, it is a confusing jumble. If you have spent years and years studying and reading, it is a fabulous treasure trove that lets you feel like you are discovering things that you have been seeing for years as pictures in books. But visiting the pyramids is both aggravating and a let down. Yanni… wonderful word that took me years to completely clear from my speech. Even though the meaning is different, I always felt that it was used rather like “you know” or “like” in English… just a filler. I love Cairo… kullihaga mumkin…
Thanks for your feedback! I like the way you framed your perspective on Cairo. I think it really depends on the building you live in for plumbing, but it’s a general rule (how much of a myth it is I can’t say) that I’ve been told and seen on many signs.
I’m definitely more into the socioeconomic side of things in MENA than Egyptology, but I agree with you about the museum—it is incredible and full of many amazing treasures. I just think the setup is terrible. It’s overwhelming how many things there are, and many items are unlabeled and placed haphazardly as if you were in a warehouse. Speaking from pure aesthetics, the place could be organized and managed a lot better, but Egypt has bigger problems than this to deal with right now. Also, Egyptian friends of mine told me that when they were kids they used to go on field trips where they would be given “baby mummies” to toss around and play with. I’ve taken visiting friends to the museum numerous times and been horrified to watch people climb on and defile precious items. This was depressing to watch.
The pyramids is the worst experience of all, and I think it would help Egypt with its tourism if they cleaned up the place (with thugs and the trash). We definitely have some people that take advantage of tourists at different heritage sites in Turkey, but nothing compared to the level of aggressiveness and swindling at the pyramids. Even the police and officials are looking for baksheesh there, and you have have people impersonating the police in bogus uniforms. That’s a shame for Egypt because the pyramids are an iconic location (even though there’s so much more to Egypt than this), and this leaves a very negative lasting impression. I think the only tourists who really enjoy the pyramids are either incredibly dumb/oblivious/naive or are “check-list traveling” junkies who are just looking for some photo opportunities for facebook.
The gang at the pyramids have been horrible to tourists for at least the last thousand years!! And I’m sure that the breakdown in the society of the last couple years has only made it go from awful to ghastly. I visited Giza as a tourist in 1984, and pretty much stayed away from them when I lived there. Unlike the tombs and temples around Egypt, one visit is enough to these big piles of rocks surrounded by the most aggressive touts in the world. When I had friends visiting from the US, I would send them out there in a taxi… give them full warning of what would ensue… and wish them luck… and have the Stella ready in the fridge when they got back to my place. 🙂
I lived in Cairo for a total of 9 years–in three segments. Each time I returned I could see change and/or progress. There are times where you do want to run screaming down the street. Those times are either WAY out of the norm or you are to new. I love Cairo and the Egyptians. The city does challenge you, but generally in a very interesting way. Every time you think you know all about (fill in the blank) you can easily still learn a lot more. I miss all the personal relationships I had with the people, from the boab on the street to the green grocer whom every one warned me about. Turns out that by being polite and genuinely interested in our small conversations, he was actually a nice guy. Scream at him about the price/quality of something? Forget about it!
Pyramids. Well guess what? The folks you are calling thugs may be, but my thoughts are that they are scrambling to make a living. Tourists think giving them 50 piasters a generous tip. it was about 6 cents. My policy was always to keep in mind that the guy had to make a living, feed his family (all 12 of them in one small home) and try to pay for his kids school uniforms so they could get SOME education. I haven;t been there for 4 years (moved 2 other places since) but in Egypt things change very slowly, so I am betting a lot of what I say is still relevant.
This is really heartwarming! I was born and raised in Kuwait (But I’m Egyptian, you don’t get the Kuwaiti nationality even if you’re born in Kuwait) once I realized that living has got to be more than just making money and shopping for fancy things, I decided to move to Egypt and start my life in Cairo.
Although I’m Egyptian, I could really relate to a lot of things you’re saying. And the way you expressed how you love Cairo despite of all the negativity is exactly how I would personally express my love to it.
I’m sure you already know this by now, but at some point we, Egyptians, start considering expats as one of our own, you’re always welcome to Egypt, dear Heather! 🙂
Thank you for your very sweet comment!
I had a number of Egyptian friends born abroad who had returned to Egypt, and their voices definitely came out when I wrote this post.
I look forward to coming back for a visit to Cairo to see my dearly missed friends and for a quick getaway to Nuweiba in the nearer future when I can take a break from work!
I agree with all what u said except the tap water thingy , u may get a stomach ache at first but when you get used to it you will be never able to drink anything else 😀
I think you have an Egyptian stomach. I have drank the water as well, and my stomach, which has also had the water from other less clean sources, was okay. However, many Americans and other foreigners do not have the kind of antibodies in their immune system to be able to handle the water without having problems.
Having an Egyptian stomach is one of the few benifits of living in Egy 🙂
Actually Heather u just in a sarcastic way, u succeeded to summarize all what goes in my mind and in my deep heart in simple way, and what made me continue reading the 30 points, dat after each point i say damn !!! this gurl really used to live in egypt and had deep experience like i thought u r not even an expat and pretending to be one of em and u must be an egyptian one tellin her daily routine. specially the part of drinkin mineral water. dats cos i stayed part of my life abroad not even in an European country and although it is a middle eastern one (emirates) but when i came back i used to fight with my mum everyday to buy 3 bottles of mineral water a day and mum always yelling whats wrong with water from the tap we all drink of it !!!!? and ended up by buying from my own pocket money cos its part of luxurious aspects of life although i swear even when i ran out from mineral water and have to drink from de tap, i feel like no no noway i will wait for the morning till i can order one. I swear its not showing off or tryin to appear like luxurious guy but cant afford the taste or da smell anymore :(. Finally i just hope dat i didnt annoy anyone or mis described my feelings and my thoughts and btw i m livin now in canada but still miss my friends and cairo alot and hope it wld one day become a superb area to attract everyone not cos for its historical places but for being one of the most modern and technology seeker countries in da world Inshaa Allah 🙂
Hello, i guess that you didn’t yet figure out what the real Egypt was, how ad to know that you were there and you didn’t experience it yet.
I luv how u amazingly figured out a major part of Egypt and Egyptians, really funny and true 😀
HI 🙂 i read your article and i couldn’t hold my self from commenting 🙂
first i would like to tell you that i agree with some points of what you’ve mentioned but i don’t agree about some of them too, you are saying that egyptians have no sense of time and actually that is completely not true. It doesn’t mean that cause you met some egyptians who don’t respect time that it means that all egyptians do 🙂 I’am a student in cairo university-Faculty of engineering and in my college all people appreciate time and dates and i think that all over the world, you will always find people who don’t respect the time. About also that egyptian guys don’t marry girls whom they have sex with, this is not true at all, its not a general rule really. It depends on the cultural and the thinking lever of the person here actually, me for example, i don’t mind it at all cause i don’t have sex but only when there is love between me and the girl, but there are allot of guys in egypt think about having sex for the physical and the sexual need only and cause it’s kinda prohibited through religion here, allot of girls refuse so guys have to pretend love and willing to marry to convince the girl to have sex, but its not about a general rule at all. About also what you said about that service is terrible, I see that it depends on where you go just like everywhere in the world. I went to paris maybe 6 times and allot of times I’ve tried awful services, also in USA and even in Swizland. Also about ( they are not scary as they seem ), i don’t see any meaning of being scary but just when the person is carrying a weapon, vampire, looks like a devil or i don’t know, we all here believe in that the way we look is how god wanted us to look and in our religions we also believe god that he said that this is the best way we would look, face looking has never been an indicator of how the person is, and for me, i prefer to be looking SCARY but, respectful, kind, smart and allot of more important things.
I really liked your article and all what you said. i believe you have noticed allot of true things about us but i can guarantee to you that there are allot of things that would impress you about egypt and egyptians but you didn’t have the chance to live it 🙂
Thank you and hope you will visit us again.
Mahmoud
you know about egypt more than i do ,, XD
when i started reading the first 2 or 3 points, my mind was like okay here we go, target enemy!!
then i continue reading as i finish line after line, & at the end of the article, i was wrong, i rushed into accusing anyone of telling the truth of some bad things in my country that he is enemy! somehow its not about hate, but i think im gonna call it love, jealousy, im in love story with Egypt, that`s what really describes me when i finished reading your article, felt happy!! mm no not the word! yes felt warm, its my home! i`m sorry for anything bad u saw but i think that hopefully after all the latest revolution thing going, we`re gonna care about our Egypt more, one day, the whole world will see this country the way i see it, the most beautiful, warm, relaxing, welcoming, country, the most generous people, the most helpful peoples, hope that day come soon.
at the end, i totally agree on your 30 points, & really love your words. wish you the best ever
Pingback: 30 Things To Know about Cairo & Egyptians | asmaaakl28
how you are STILL LOVE EGYPT ?
I hate this country, They ruin everything Beautiful and clean.I believe Islam is the most reason for affecting this country and Muslim people are horrible anywhere around the world.
U must watch ”asal eswad” the movie by ”Ahmed Helmy” the actor to see yr year on the screen thank u for visiting Egypt wish that next time u will find much better place god willing
This is Egypt, mix of extremes, white and black. Most likely mix of chilly spices without it food is tasteless although it causes tongue burn and other troubles. I should admit that I got annoyed at the beginning of reading your blog. Although I am pretty sure that you have told the truth, I am also confident that you will love to get back soon again. Moreover, for the mystery of Egyptian magic you will be keen to revisit all your previous 30 experiences again. 🙂
Yes, you are crazy.
You wouldn’t love Cairo if you were raised in it or you were an Egyptian.
Give it a second visit and let’s see if it’s gonna change your mind.
I probably am crazy. But I lived there for a while, and I’ve been more than once. The place is a roller-coaster indeed; some days were hell, and some days were amazing.
OK !! but have you seen the loads of garbage on the roads ??
have you seen how women are treated and how the marriage process goes on in Egypt ?
have you seen the lack of electricity and water in many areas of Cairo that you even don’t know ??
have you seen how ignorance and religious fanatic thinking is rival Everywhere ??
You young lady just have no idea about the Quality of Education and Health care in Egypt and How AWFUL and BAD they are !
you don’t know how someone’s life is totally wasted in the public transportation here ,
Public transportation here is SH*T
How Government still works with Archive old papers instead of Computers in 2013 !!!!
You have no Idea how Everyone tries to make use of you to get your Money out of your pocket and how far and low they can go !
You have NO IDEA How HELL is living here !!!
Yes, I have seen and lived through all of that.
However, I’ve also had iftar with wonderful Egyptian families as if they were my own, and I’ve met amazing and ambitious young entrepreneurs with dreams of changing Egypt. I feel their pain of the friction you have to overcome to change things and make a difference in Egypt/Cairo, even for small things, but I think there are negatives and positives to everything. And no place, even California, is perfect.
Reblogged this on بن عربي and commented:
How the western residents in Cairo see it? worthy to be read, if you are planning to visit Egypt,
The author’s viewpoint is quite accurate.
Thank you very much for the reblog! I appreciate it!
You are welcome, really very nice article!
Well first of all i didn’t like it that much, but after reading about 10 points i LOVED it 🙂
maybe you didn’t live in many cities in Egypt as I did, but I ensure you that every single city in Egypt has it’s own goods and they are so different that you think you are totally out of Egypt( Cairo in your case ).
I have lived in Cairo for the last 2 years and you’re right, it is ugly/beautiful place to live in, but I can say that living in Cairo as I was a child was much more fun 😀
I prefer living in Hurghada than any other city in Egypt. It has all the good things about Alex but no rain 😛 that makes it better 😀
Anyway many thanks for your words about my Country, which i adore.. By the way I love Kushari and i drink TAP WATER 😀 of course not in Cairo but the more you head down to the south, the more you drink a clean tasteless tap water 🙂
Thanks again 🙂
HAHAHAHAHA , really fantastic , no cheating no lying we are like you said exactly !!
First of all we don’t actually care about your opinion. this is our country and this is how we live.
Ouch. I guess some people do because thousands of people read this, including you. Thanks for the free real estate in your mind.
To be honest, that is the most ridiculous article I’ve read in a long time.
Terrible review of a beautiful county, yes it might get crazy sometimes, but you can never hate it. And AUC is not overrated, it’s one of the best schools, and Zamalek is beautiful (maybe your friends took you to the wrong places)
Best school compared to what? In Egypt? in The Middle East? I would still argue AUB is better in the Middle East… Many schools in Turkey are also better. I would even argue that the students at Cairo University are receiving a better and more rigorous curriculum in many cases. AUC is just a name.
It looks like you didn’t read my other piece, and also perhaps don’t understand sarcasm. http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
I didn’t say Zamalek was ugly anywhere; just overrated, which it is. It’s a lovely place, just overpriced and full of pretentious people. I still went there a lot, and I don’t hate it, but it’s not my favorite place in Cairo. I’ve been to just about every place in Zamalek, and I still prefer more low key things in other parts of Cairo. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
well, although i’m egyptian but not living in egypt, I think you touched many critical points/ would rather call it facts, I think the main challenge in egypt now is the people aren’t willing to change their behaviour (i.e someone used to throw the garbage next to his house wouldn’t enjoy walking few meters to throw it in proper trash can). we simply have the concept of “why should i do if the others doesn’t do”.
we mostly look at each other and repeat what is being done and there is no concept of mind your own business. Anyways, thanks for the post although it gives people negative impression about egypt and egyptians but it is actually facts (sad truth).
Cheers
Hey! Thanks for reading and responding with your thoughts. I know how you feel. Inshallah it will improve somehow…
Cheer up a bit and read this: http://hongkongandbeyond.com/2013/05/03/20-things-i-love-about-cairo/
What you have mentioned is quite true about living in Cairo specifically where there have been numerous blogs and reports about it , but in the Delta region ( I m living in Mansoura ) unfortunately we hardly ever see any Westerners who would be interested to come and explore because it is not exciting as Cairo .It’s even worse, much less under developed, ,maybe just less polluted , less congested traffic though. Touristic cities are one thing but the rural areas are just completely different, and you can never make a complete true picture of the society by living in the capital city only! Nevertheless your article is a humorous and non biased one! Cheers
Thanks for your thoughts! I never maid it to Mansoura, but I had actually really wanted to visit it. I definitely agree with you that touristic cities are completely different than touristic ones or large ones. The people and the way of life are very different. I actually really enjoyed visiting some farms of the family of some of my friends; I felt that was the closest thing to the “true Egypt,” or at least the Egypt I had imagined and dreamed of as I watched old Egyptian movies growing up. That Egypt reminded me so much more of villages in Lebanon or Turkey than the filth that Cairo was/is becoming. I guess that is true of everywhere in the world though with development and urbanization…so often you trade your culture for “development,” even if that means most people end up living in even worse conditions in crowded cities with greater inequality… Cheers to you too!
Reblogged this on Dawn of Thoughts and commented:
Some nice advices for anyone wishing to pay us a visit!
Thanks for the reblog! I appreciate it.
I loved it!! seriously, I am an Egyptian and cant be more proud although we have many negatives but the love we feel whenever we are walking through the streets (specially very late by night when its empty) and seeing how amazingly beautiful Cairo is. I will always be in love with Egypt and hopefully in some not very distant years we would have the ability to change the negatives into positives.
I totally agree how unfortunately lots of Egyptians don’t much realize the value of their history and monuments but one dy they will and hopefully not too late.
Koshari is an experience on its own and I am glad you loved it. don’t worry if you are crazy then there are millions others in love with that country. you are not alone!
Thanks!!! I think the first step to bringing change is admitting there are problems and discussing them. 🙂 I know a lot of Egyptians, Arabs, and Turks don’t like to talk about the problems in their countries publicly, but being prideful and not admitting the issues won’t change anything. Likewise, not all the points I mentioned are negative—everyone and each culture is different. I think people should embrace their differences and really own them. It’s good to fix your problems, but those you can’t you might as well embrace. 🙂 (Anyways, that is how I see life.)
Haha, I’m glad I’m not alone in being crazy. I definitely miss the sense of community in Egypt. I always felt a bit like the “distant Turkish cousin,” aka an honorary Masry. 🙂
so I cant agree more , yes you magnify most of egyptian irrational and careless character but it is true egypt is strange and special country between civilization and chaos and generaly nonsense in everything your criticism was tough but 100% true
Oh my god Heather, I really loved ur article and enjoyed reading it. I very very much live in the dilemma of the love/hatred relationship. I work in the UK as an engineering consultant and my work is on a 4weeks on/4 weeks off rota. So i am basically going back and forth all the time. I have come out to the best description of this through the years i have done that; Egypt is the country I can neither live in nor away from. I love it to bits yet hate the way it is in many aspects. We hate it only because we really love it and would literally die to see it get better, progress ahead and get through the development phase. I have often been requested to move to Britain but I could never even think about doing so. It’s home at the end of the day and its only fair to long for home.
I do love Koshari and Foul we Ta’meyya. I drive like crazy and I start going out from home at 1 in the morning.
I am a leftie and I have to tell you that there’s nothing about eating with ur right hand related to using the hose in the toilet. It’s a muslim ritual. It’s not a sin to eat with ur left hand yet its not preferred if u like. I could never learn to do it so I eat with the same hand I do pretty everything with 🙂
I hope next time you come, conditions would be absolutely in ur favour 🙂
Great write up
Ayman! Thank you for the lovely response! I think we see eye to eye on this topic very much. Your words really echo my hyphenated Egyptian friends who pass back and forth through Egypt regularly (UK, Canada, US, etc). Egypt is kind of like an abusive but passionate relationship. You can’t live without her, but you can’t quite live with her either. 😉
You’re making me crave Egyptian food like crazy! Unfortunately I haven’t found any great Egyptian food in SF or the bay, so I guess I’m going to have to do some cooking this weekend to satisfy my desires for Egyptian food!
Inshallah things improve in Cairo. Thanks for the info!
Cheers,
Heather (Reyhan)
Ahha,…
So you are a ” Turkish-American ” .
ok take care of yourself when you come back visiting Egypt , and don’t tell anybody about that when walking in the streets …. 😉
especially after Morsy have been toppled … 😀
Not everyone in Turkey likes AKP and Erdogan… 😉
i think you make propaganda to another place not Egypt >>>>yaanee 🙂
huh?
nice of you to share you thoughts about Cairo in an article. I agree with some of your opinions, but some are a not very accurate. For example: “No one wakes up early” in cairo is a complete fallacy; I’m Egyptian and go to work 6:30 AM every day and people are already in the streets going to work, and peak rush hour is at about 7:30 to 8:00 AM. the statement that “The Nile is GROSS” is a clear exaggeration. Yes some dirty people throw a couple of plastic bags in it when they finish their chips, but it is not to the extent that it is “Cairo’s garbage can.” Same goes for tap water quality. Granted it may vary from one neighbourhood to another, and that I live in Maadi which is a privileged neighbourhood, but I found tap water coming to my house actually tasted better than the water I tried in Houston or New York. Some of your views about Cairo are true, both the good and bad, like the appalling view of thugs and lowlifes in the vicinity of one of our greatest achievement as a nation, our national pride and icon, the great Pyramids. still, we love Egypt, for better or worse. I’m sticking with it to the end.
thank you again for the effort and opinion.
I am sorry for every tourist that has to go through all of this hard times in Egypt 😦
Hey we are not that bad!!!
Oh who am I kidding XD
are you sure you’re not Egyptian ? 🙂
haha. Sometimes I wonder, yani. 😉
the museum is amazing. wrong fact.
Wow i am really impressed i didn’t expect to read something like that written by foreigner you write it like you are one of the native Egyptians although i am Egyptian but i read things in your article make me feel doubt if i am Egyptian or not 😀 you really did a good job with this writing (Y) but i guess there is more than 30 things to know about Cairo and Egyptians xD
Thanks again! I adapted quite quickly to Egypt I guess… There are definitely more than 30 things to know; I could write a book, but this was just one blog post, so I had to stop somewhere! 30 is actually a lot for many people to read already, but I think they were all pretty interesting, so it wasn’t too horrible to read it all! 😉
no no it wasn’t horrible at all you 😉 i am glade that you like it here 🙂
Wow after all of that you still love Egypt
but you really explain it all ,this is Egypt
First Welcome to Egypt and thanks for ur points ..
i was about to go to say what ahell are you doing !! blah blah blah and though u r enemy to my country.. but really i got these points in a so lovable way .. and appreciate that ..
it’s the time to focus on our bad things in order to fix them not to cover them and make our selves blind in order not to see them !! we really have a problems but trust me this country u will never find any country like it 🙂 . it’s traditions and habits that can fascinate u ..
i was having a friend from america and it visited egypt i can’t describe to u how much she liked it ..
but Thanks for all ur points how ever i;m not with u in some of them 🙂 🙂
We hope to see u again in egypt .. 🙂
Reblogged this on omarsebres and commented:
أم الدنيا
As i’m an Egyptian, But you’re right .. i laughed 30 times while i was reading your post. Really some Egyptian people are suffering from the same points you did list. Anyway, Welcome to Egypt 😀
Hello,
This may be the first time for me to read the full article but I’m really impressed, first of it I said ” Oh another tourist tells bad things about Egypt”, then I continue reading & said to myself, I was wrong and telling you sorry, some points you mentioned are 100% right, some points I don’t know about them, other points I disagree with you like Add 2.5 – 4 hours I guess it should be add 1-2 hours maximum, for me I try to keep my dates and the issue is traffic 90%.
In my opinion, the big issue in Egypt is order, we are disordered community, we are educated, open-minded, some of us good decision makers but all of us drive cars in a crazy-taxi style, we never committed to traffic signs unless the police officer is standing with tickets in hands like saying ( just do it driver and the ticket will be issued now), that’s when we abide to law.
So, I guess you are right for most of things, and I also know and confirm that Egypt is more safe than US, I visited US 5 times and I did not feel safe like Egypt may be because I’m Egyptian but in US on a high way you feel you are alone, no one is ready to help you on road.
I always say to myself, this is the country where science, medicine, engineering were created why can’t we be like our old ancient ! but we need more time to change this idea and begin truly to work harder for this country.
Finally, I like your words ( I STILL LOVE EGYPT), and you are not crazy, despite all what you faced in Egypt.
I hope you come back again, and welcome in Egypt, your second home country.
Best Regards,
Mohamed
I want to say you are Egyptian now, as long as you say yaani 🙂
🙂 🙂
you know you are right about every single word you’ve said 😀 here in Egypt we are the only people that tend or how can i say it … mmmm you can say hoping for the best or imagining while we don’t take not a single move we stay all the time doing nothing and actually we our selves say all the time and i bet anyone to deny this ” Egypt is a horrible place , we are the most stupid people in the hole world , no hope , …………..etc” you know what most of youth here mostly what they want is to get the hell out of this place and travel whatever they go it will always be better than here 😀 😀 so eventually am not surprised by your review 😀 😀 😀
i am an AUC Alumni and i totally agree with you… AUC is totally over-rated…
Hello Heather
Iam an Egyptian i Won’t deny what said but i disagree with you about some points one of these points is Rehab yes its boring after a while but its better then lots of places the water and power shortages are very Rare i never had it and i have been there for a while don’t forget at least quarter of it is under castration So its a mistake to judge it now.
– Nile isnt our garbage Can Yes there is places the River is Dirty but not all of it .
– but sure Egypt loved you as much as you did
Hello , Regardless of some points i am happy you enjoyed here at the end or ( loved it )
we all love something about here – i am Egyptian –
-we like to see foreigners so much
– we feel bad when you suffer here about the crowds and dirty locations
because there’re many of us who are really civilized and dislike how much there’re some people who dirt the streets and not caring for the time -whether woking up late or times –
– There’s Hurghada in the Red sea .. you would love it too
– If you went Alexandria you should try Balba ( restaurant )
– don’t believe any comment saying we are stupid or most stupid people in the world it pissed me off actually .. we aren’t stupid but there’re many circumstances around us not helping
most of them what you mentioned add on that the education and other things
i am not giving excuse for being negative and not using the time Properly
but we are not stupid at all … we just need to work so hard to be something better really
and it became from the Individual decisions .
i wish you would find it better place next time
welcome ❤
Thank you Heather, your article made me smile.
I live in Egypt and although most of what you say is true, I, for one, cannot help but continue to love Egypt.
There is a saying that ‘ When in Rome…..’ This statement couldn’t be further from the truth reagarding Egypt.
I Like it.. although there’re alot of misinterpreted issues.
This would be perceptive if you’d been in Egypt two weeks – foreigners shouldn’t wear galabeyas – no shit!
I have no problem with you going over Egypt’s negatives, they need saying. Nor the enthusing about Egypt’s amazingness.
But I have to say that if you’ve been in Egypt a year and you still say alienating, othering, patronising things like ‘bring an Egyptian’ (those convenient Egyptians), ‘Egypt is a developing country’ (so we can patronise it), ‘Egyptians aren’t as scary as they seem’ (wtf) – my stomach turns.
You’ve had a really nice response from Egyptian people here, this is because you’ve been both positive and realistic, and Egyptians are used to stuck-up foreigners just complaining about their Egypt trip. (Also, in my experience, Egyptian people are INCREDIBLY nice to foreigners, and very self-critical and humorous, and you are getting this generosity here).
But as a foreigner I found your tone embarrassing. In places you talk as if the only ‘normal’ perspective is that of some WASPish American tourist who finds anything from cultures of colour either scary or exotic (known in some circles as ‘a racist’).
And oh my god no to saying ‘yanni’ in every other sentence when you don’t speak Arabic. That’s just embarrassing.
i think you visit Egypt more than the Egyptian do it .. many of Egyptian don’t know this places that you mentioned in your article
and i thougt that ” what happens in egypt stay in egypt ”
just one word to describe this ” yaaaani ” + “a7eeh” 😀 , i know they two words but dont Bargain with me 😛
The only thing that I would add is to get permission to take photos in the city, especially near Giza. I had groups of men following me more than once, even though I wasn’t taking pictures of people. Some of them still believe you are ‘stealing their soul’
Great list! You made me miss koshary….. -_-
Lol where did you get the idea that we don’t eat with the left hand because of using the hose to clean after taking a dump? it’s actually cleaner than a toilet paper!! we don’t use our left hand for eating because it is recommended in Islam to only use your right hand for eating. It’s not like everyone’s hands are dirty lol…everything in the article is soo insightful but the left hand thing was pretty weird.
i had spent 13 years of my life time in cairo/egypt. truley, i have never seen a country that is comfortable like egypt. i m really in love with egypt. your 30 point exact thing that is in egypt. but as you say, still love egypt.:)
you are complaining a lot and in the end you said ” Even with all of this, I STILL LOVE EGYPT! …maybe I’m crazy? ” i think you are right !