Hi, could you tell me what its like for an American in Egypt?

Question

I mean, I wouldn't suggest that an American go to Iraq right now for example. From what I've seen of Egypt in pictures it looks wonderful and I would very much like to visit there someday. Not everybody hates Americans so please don't give me that...I've been to many countries in Europe and they like you just fine as long as you are respectful.

I'm going to be in Italy in a few weeks and thought of maybe going to Egypt from there, because it is less expensive than if I was coming from the U.S.....so any advice or tips would be appreciated because if I'm going to do this I need to decide soon.

Thanks for the answers!

Oh, and also could you suggest a city? Thanks again!

Answer 1

I am a blonde haired, blue eyed American and I love Egypt. I highly encourage you to visit. I never had any problems, and always felt safe and comfortable. Treat people with respect, and they will do the same in return. Egyptian people are friendly and helpful.

Answer 2

I traveled to Egypt last winter with the political science department at Northeastern University. Here is what I can recommend. (side note: travel with a male friend/acquaintance if possible)

Stay at Sheraton Hotel El Gezirah Towers & Casino.

And I wouldn't take water from the Nile. The Nile is exposed from Aswan to Damietta and Resetta to great amounts of dangerous pollutants from the various factories which were built with no planning along the banks and throws its waste without treatment in the Nile waters. The excessive use of pesticides river fans into a massive delta where a host of waterborne diseases, such as schistosomiasis, also flourish. The agricultural drainage is another source of pollution besides that of the sewage. Side note: only drink bottled water.

Go to the "City of the Dead" (it's a dramatic name for an impoverished area that was built around graves due to a housing shortage) - there is a little shop there where they make hand blown glass. It's beautiful and the money goes directly to the people who make the glass.

Some great things to bring back is papyrus.
- hand stiched drums/instruments
- jewelry (especially stones)
- scarves [women's, football (Zamalek!)]
- carved goods
-
n Cairo, there is a Sudanese Christian church that sells goods made by Sudanese refugees. The money goes right back to them. They are the most unique and beautiful items. It is across from the Sheraton Hotel El Gezirah Towers & Casino.

Make sure you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS bargain.
Never take the first price.
Hint: If they refuse your price, pretend it's too expensive and start walking away. Most will give in.
Never let the shop keepers see your wallet and how much is in it. Keep one with small bills, and when you go to a shop in spend it - step outside and replace it.
Try to buy in markets instead of hotels or near hotels
Also, A LOT of the shops sell the same goods in a market, so if they are being unreasonable, you can get it for your price a few shops down.

Regarding travel, if you are going in the summer, take a trip from Cairo to Alexandria and the Sinai.

If you're travelling in winter months, take a sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan, and then Luxor.

If you plan on attending any holy places, Muslim or Coptic Christian, wear a headscarf. Any other time, you don't have to.
Also, be respectful with your dress. It is pure respect not to show too much skin, or wear tight fitting clothes.
Egyptians are very kind, but still there is no reason to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. However when you are in your hotel, you can wear what you please. (if you stay at the Sheraton).

A term you might want to know is "la-shook-ron." It means "No thank you." As a tourist you will have vendors coming up to you. Just say that term and walk away. Its still polite.

Enjoy!

Answer 3

Well, it's nice but the biggest problem is the if you don't know the place people will try to rip you off when it comes to money.. Everyone things that western world are rich so they will try to get you money anyways.. For example, a TAXI might cost locals 5.00 L.E then you might be charge for 150.00 L.E believe it or not.. And you will diffinatly pay becasue that's about few dollars back home.. Hey, that's actually a rip off.. Egypt is nice there are nice places and dirty place of course pollution and more.. It's really bad when it comes to environment..

Answer 4

u wont regret it
u'll notice that Egyptians treat people from anywhere in this world in a very nice way.
Egyptians are known by their generosity and their willingness to help.
so dont worry about being treated in a different way cause ur american.
also Egypt is a free country, not like the media show, many women are not veiled, they can wear whatever they like, short skirts, sleevless stuff..etc
my advice to u: dont miss visiting the great pyramids
if u have enough time, try to visit sharm el sheikh and go to ras mohamed for diving in the red sea and safari
go to khan el khalily, which is the best place for shopping for oriental egyptian stuff, like silver accessories, home accessories, pharaonic souvenirs, old, belly dancing suits..and many things
in khan el khalily u can also sit in the oldest traditional cafes and smoke shisha;)
the nightlife in Egypt is really nice, there are cinemas, cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars...
but remember something when u go shopping, always bargain, it works almost everywhere in egypt.
and take care in tourism areas, u'll find hundreds of sellers, trying to sell u stuff, they keep trying to convince u and this can be very annoying, so if u dont wanna buy from them just say no and leave them.
if beggers or homeless people come to ask u for money in the street, u just dont reply and they will go away.
dont be scared of what i told u, its a very safe place, and those annoying people can be found anywhere in the world.
whenn u come here, if u wanna go shopping for famous brands and famous international stores, they are everywhere but to find them in one place, there is this huge mall called "city stars" located in Heliopolis, it has shops, cinemas, food courts, cafes and everything,ur gonna like it.

if u need any help just email me

Answer 5

Depends on your mood.It is much better than what it is for an Egyptian in America though , Just kidding but been there.
All the sources of entertainment that you have in America are available here and more .I would suggest that you have arrangments with a respectable travel agency to be able to get around.
If you go alone stay away from Cairo because you will not like it there .
Try Alexandria .It is beautiful .

Answer 6

I had a Friend who lived in Egypt for ten years and told me all about it. She said it is just like it is here the people aren't strictly mean or nice. Some people will be glad to have you and others won't. the climate of coarse is warm, but with air conditioning can be quite pleasant. Always remember that the human race was meant to adapt to there surroundings.

Answer 7

I agree with most of the postings b4 mine, but the only thing, i think you shouldn't take the sleeping train to Luxorif you go, it wasn't that good for me, it is not comfortable, it is a long trip. you should fly instead, it takes about 45 min flying from Cairo to Luxor or Aswan.

Answer 8

who come visit our country as a tourist he conside guest here so alwya welcoming our guest, it is our rule and tradtional as arabian and moslim people. and my advice for you don't get any onfo from someone not been in egypt before cause most americans worry to go to middle east and they don't know how it looks like here so they just think it is dangurous and all that but fact is differant so don't get any advices from someone not been here before. i suggest Luxor as main city for your stay and from Luxor move to other cites.
if you need more info you can contact me back at any moment.

Answer 9

Traveling here as a tourist should be fine. If you look anything like your picture, i.e., you're at all, say, blonde, light-eyed, tall, you definitely want to be careful about what you wear. I wouldn't walk around Cairo in shorts and a halter top. You don't need to wear a veil, outside of a few of the mosques and Coptic churches, but blonde hair will attract notice, some of it not so awesome.

Get a Lonely Planet guide - it has some good suggestions for itineraries, depending on how long you're going to visit. Sharm is a popular destination, it seems, but if you can spare some time for Cairo, it's worth your while, since it's the Mother of All Cities. You could see the Pyramids, the Khan al-Khalili bazaar, etc., in a couple of days, and gotten a decent taste, but also have barely scratched the surface. Luxor is also popular, again for those most interested in Ancient Egypt. But again, Lonely Planet has a very recent edition for Egypt, published in May of this year, so prices should be a fairly accurate reflection, and give you a rounder picture than you'll get here.

Egyptians are friendly, but it ranges from the genuine to the not-at-all genuine. That is, a friendly hello and a smile can be sincere, or it can be the prelude to one of those inevitable, interminable, "come this way, sucker," conversations. Learning even a few words of Arabic goes a long way, especially if you're obviously North American/European looking.

The security situation is mostly excellent. There is almost no crime at all in Cairo, and I walk the streets into the night in very non-touristy, non-Western areas with no fear at all. There are tourist police everywhere in the tourist areas. You are far more likely to get killed walking around the Mall in DC than you are in Egypt. Exceptions: stay clear of political events - sometimes the police are there just to create the illusion of security while plainclothes thugs beat on protestors/voters/journalists with impunity. Also, they do nothing about sexual harassment (see below).

That said, there is the harassment issue. Walking around alone is a bad idea, especially at night. You're mostly OK in tourist areas, but it's not always clear where those lines are. We live in Ma'adi, a very secure, very Western area (a lot of embassies are down here, and a lot of expats), and if you don't look Egyptian, Egyptian men can be creepy. They might stare, look you up and down in a slow and lingery way, might even follow you if you make the mistake of eye contact with them. It rarely goes beyond that, but it's intimidating, and definitely a nuisance. I've seen this happen to women who were in my presence, and when they're alone, it's worse. Just bear that in mind, but otherwise, you're safe to travel here, and it's an interesting and dynamic cultural experience, no matter the length of your stay.

Now, just last week, during the first night of the Eid al-Fit, the celebration that comes at the end of Ramadan, there was an extremely ugly incident, what can only be described as mass sexual harassment:

"Sexual harrasement of women in public spaces has been discussed several times before in the Egyptian blogosphere, everybody knows it's prevalent but denial flows like a river in Egypt, any woman dares open the topic has to face an avalanche of abuse on anonymous comments sometimes even from fellow bloggers. blaming the victims is the most common response but sometimes they even deny it happens at all, with the abuse also comes more accounts and stories of how it's like to be female in urban Egypt.

Last tuesday was the first day of Eid El Fitr the streets are typically full of people celebrating and enjoying their time, downtown Cairo is full of cinemas and Eid is the main cinema season, this year Malek, Wael Abbas, Mohammed Sharkawy, Ma3t, GemyHood and Radwa Osama witnessed a mob attacking and sexually harassing women in downtown cairo, their reports sparked heated discussions on the blogosphere, with no shortage of theories everything was blamed at one point or another as being responsible, music videos, sheikhs, israel, drugs, mubarak, class dynamics, you name it.

One topic that always pops out when discussing sexual harassment is the veil since the veil is sometimes promoted as a way to protect women from sexual harassment, yet it's as common to hear complains from veiled women as from unveiled ones, the molesters do not differentiate they attack anything that might be female."

From the blog "Manal and Alaa's bit bucket" at http://manalaa.net/eid_a_festival_of_sexual_harrasement
I posted more links to this story below, since you won't see it in mainstream media, especially not international media. The story broke here this week, and made it to TV and national newspapers, mostly to be denounced and denied by government-controlled media organs, but not even al-Jazeera is reporting this. The harassment issue is getting worse here, not better.

Also, the recent sudden increase in inflation, especially a sharp rise in food prices, is causing those who live off of tourists to be a little more aggressive in trying to milk you for extra money.

Answer 10

We love American people, we always differentiate between politicians and the people, you can take my number and call me when u come, I am Dalia, send me e-mail and i will send u my [e-mail]