Do you personally know some Egyptians?

Question

If so, please tell me what you think are their particular traits, compared to other nationalities. Honest answers please, both good and bad points.

If you also happen to know Egyptian Coptic Christians, please also let me know your thoughts on how they are as people. Thank you!

dr_merobedro: I'm wondering about character traits. The reason why I ask is because I like this Australian-born Egyptian, we are good friends. His family are coptic Christians and I'm a Christian as well. Recently I have been given the idea by well-meaning friends that Egyptians may be after money or not trust-worthy, things of that sort. I just want to learn more about Egyptians' character traits.

"No body": yes, I won't be judging him based on purely what people say here, I'm a very open minded person, just want to hear both the good and the bad. To answer your question, the people in Australia are generally "open, kind, polite and helpful". I can compare them to my home country people, who are more "conservative, strong family values, less friendly to strangers".

Ok, I think I'm starting to get a lot of answers warning me of generalising people. I'M NOT GOING TO APPLY IT TO HIM, this is for my understanding and background knowledge, something to watch out for. Please only answer if you actually can answer my questions?

Answer 1

I’m Egyptian and in my opinion Egypt is different from all other countries, it makes u love it and get mad of it at the same time, but still being an Egyptian makes u proud all the way.
Lets start with good traits:)
Egyptians are very well known with their generosity, although not many people here are rich but they are still generous, also hospitality and helpfulness, expect immediate help from Egyptians that u don’t even know, if ur in a situation that requires help, u don’t even have to ask for it, and this one isn’t found in any other place so far.
one of my favorite things which i mentioned before is forgiveness, Egyptians have an exceptional ability to forgive, without even talking about it, people can fight and hate each other but if one of them says hello or hi to the other the next day, consider it done, they can forget any hatred between them.
also people tend to forget everything if they see someone in a hard situation, like in a hospital or lost something precious..etc, they stand for each other.
Egyptians are also very famous with their sense of humor; almost everybody here knows how to make u laugh.
Enough about good stuff huh…to be fair sometimes some Egyptians can be so shallow, concentrating on appearance, for example, Egypt is not considered a wealthy country, and Egyptians are not relatively wealthy, though u find everybody here having mobile phones, and trying to buy the latest types regardless of their options, but its like competition, where everybody wants to look cool u know.
Another thing is gossip, many Egyptians like to talk about one another and concentrate on how others are dressed, how they talk, how they act..etc
When u walk down the street, many people can stare at u, looking at what ur wearing and what ur doing, u don’t find this for example in Europe, where nobody interferes with others, there is this respect for privacy.
We have this saying “el nas 7at2oul 3alaya eih?” which I bet many Egyptians here will agree with it, it means “what would people say about me” people don’t feel free here to do whatever they like or wear whatever they wanna wear, some women are afraid to ask for a divorce to avoid others talking about them, and many of them prefer to live a horrible life instead of being happy only because they are scared of what people will think about them.
about copts, well we dont have this kind of differentiating so when i talk about egyptians i talk about both muslims and christians, we all live together here and we get along pretty well regardless of religion, so to answer ur question: what applys on egyptians, includes christians too.
But I mentioned above, u can get mad at Egyptians sometimes but still u can’t live without them:)
I consider myself lucky to be Egyptian:)

Answer 2

hello dear, i actually DO know some egyptians. I have a few friends who are Egyptian and my wonderful fiance is Egyptian as well.

I had answered one of your questions regarding Egyptians, prior to answering this one.
Personally, all of the Egyptians that i've met are really, the most kindest people in the world. They are extremely generous and helpful and loving.
Egyptians love children! They are very family oriented, which i LOVE!!! they enjoy spending time with their families and with their children. nothing is more important to them than family.
Not all Egyptians are wealthy, but they'll gladly give you what they have to make you feel the most welcome. They will try and stuff you with so much food, you won't know what to do! they are so generous.
My in-laws are just, amazing!!! Although they are Muslim and so is my fiance, they are SO accepting towards me considering that I am not Muslim AND not Egyptian like them. I am a latina and Catholic. I was unbelieveably worried that they wouldn't accept me because i was not Egyptian and Muslim. But,they were fine with the idea of me not converting to Islam, and they love me incredibly as if i were their OWN daughter.
Some of my friends are Coptic Christians and they are just as kind and helpful as the Musilms.
Bad points? If you ever visit Egypt, the vendors will try and jip you and charge you MORE than what the item actually costs, simply because you LOOK westerner and they often think your stupid and won't notice.
The answerer (above) that said that they try and get the latest things, is true. You also WILL get a lot of stares from them to see what your wearing and such. It actually makes you feel a little uncomfortable, since its the men that look at you.
It is a bit uncommon to see a female and male together in public. It is MORE common to see the same sexes together, a female and a female or a male and a male, although in the West THIS would be a bit strange. But if a male and female are seen together in public, people will sometimes give you dirty looks, but if you TELL them that you are married, they will show you more respect.
But, overall, the majority of the Egyptians that you'll run into are unbelieveable kind and sweet, and would never hurt a fly.
take care.

Answer 3

For a start, I'm Egyptian, Proud 2 be A Coptic Christian...
I know all kinds of Egyptians....
Coptic Christians, Catholic Christians & Muslims too....
Egyptias People are mostly honest & fun people to be around & boys look for commitment & not afraid to do so...
They are connected to their families & love family life...
The problem I think you will have is that his family maybe wouldn't like him being with a girl who's not Egyptian...
They'll be afraid that their cultures & traditions, being different, won't make thing work...
And to be honest, I think that too.. but it's not for all people...
You will have 2 tolerate things that you maybe didn't think of, like no premarital sex & things like that...
In addition, if, as u say, he's a Coptic Christian so in order to be married you should be Baptised as a Coptic Christian because the church rules say so...
If sometimes he decides to go back live in Egypt for ever, you must be willing too & I have 2 tell you life is completely different there...
If you are only asking for friendship, that would be great, If you're going afyer love & marriage & commitment, you'll have 2 deal with few things...
My advice...
Pray a lot, try 2 go with him 2 his church, meet his parents...
God bless u baby...

Answer 4

Dear
if u wanna know some information about Egyptians here are some but actually i dont know where i can start,,

let us start first with the good characteristics,The Egyptians are known all over the world that they are friendly,lovable,helpful and very welcoming to people,which u cant find in other countries
for example,last summer i was having a visit to london and on ma second day i had a fight with two males in the underground station,u know it was really terrabile noone helped me all looking but,if this happened in Egypt people will come and support from everywhere and find justice
I think u have got ma first point

I belive that Egyptians are very hard workers despite the few offcourse,most labor at Dubai,Kuwait and Saudi arabia are Egyptians

and about people who says that we cannot trust on them and they are money lovers,Infact all people seeks money I guess and if there are a few wich u cant trust maybe cause they were raised on bad attitudes and values and no trust is every where in the world .

Probably most of Egyptians consider Ethics as our Islam religioun focus on this point despite that we can have some corruption in our government..In other countries you can find no ethics
ex:the drug scene in Amsterdam wich is supported by the government,Sex at prague for example,gays and lesbians every where at Europe,The Mafia activites at Italy and Russia
and mre so i think we are good people beside these
sorry if i made it long 4 u but i needed u to understand ma point.

your 20 yrs Egyptian muslim friend from cairo

Answer 5

Hello Lilliana, I am an Egyptian Muslim and I work among Egyptian Copts, also one of my best friends is Dutch and is married to a Copt. Copts are usually easily figured out, if they seem nice they are genuinely nice, and if they do not have a nice attitude then they're not nice people. I have rarely seen a Copt acting, pretending or being a hypocrite. I tell you that out of my personal experience, but again I could be wrong.
They are good, loyal friends. They are there in need and they are extremely nice. That is of course if you meet one of the nice people.
Even the people with bad attitude are kind hearted deep down, but they don't show it and it's a bit difficult to try to get through to them.
Bottom line is, if he's a nice guy, you're a lucky woman.

Answer 6

I am an American born Coptic Orthodox which you know translates to Christian Egyptian. I have been to Egypt also. This is such a broad question, so if you have very specific questions I'd like to help!!!

I have seen many sides of this equasion. From marriage to children to divorce to roles of men and women...

Here is my [e-mail]

In general though, I met an Egyptian man and tossed around the idea of marriage. I decided against it. email me and I'll tell you why.

Answer 7

Wow, I don't think anything I say can top most of the answers you've already gotten. Anyway, I'm with the group against generalizing. Egyptians, Muslims and Copts alike, are normal people like you and others of your nationality; we have the good, the bad and the ugly.

If you'd like to know more about Egyptian culture and traditions (which are pretty distinctive), check out this link:

http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/modernegyptculture.htm

Answer 8

i think your question isn't relavent at all u can't describe a nation HEHE


but i will tell u the truth they r kind ,generous people religious i think and the copt r more religious than the muslims . they r not dirty looking lol
their families r verry important for them ( i mean if u marry an egyptian guy he wil still be verry related to his family that he can't stay appart from them)

u can't say they after money and not trust worthy bec. it's too general but i think this is not an egyptian mentality

Answer 9

I had a very sarcastic answer in my mind but it seems u really wanna know. I am going to keep it to myself and use it later.
I am Egyptian and honestly, I don't know how to describe Egyptians!!!! Can u describe the people of ur country ?
It's natural that I will say they are nice, friendly , easy-going bla bla bla bla.But u can't really describe almost 80 million persons. This doesn't make any sense.
There are good people , and bad people. Helpful, and rude. Grumpy, and smiling. Cheap and generous. You really can't generalize.
If u really like this guy, go for it. I am crossing my fingers for you. Don't believe what those people said about us. It's so unfair. Maybe they met some people like that, but it is utterly rude to generalize this for 80 million people as I said.
Judge him for what he is and don't make preconceptions , and I hope the best for u .

Answer 10

we have in egypt a say it say
( do u know this man ? yes i do
do u live and act with him ? no i don't
so u don't know him )
this say mean that u must live with the person to know him
and no body can tell u their particular traits bcoz they r about 70 millions
i knew Christians people some of them i like and some i didn't like some is my friends and still my friends and the other i didn't think once to make them my friends
and the same in muslims

to know ur man u must live with him to deal with him
to know if he like his friends see do he visit his ill friends when they were ill?
to know did he like money than himself see what did he buy?
and so one
and by the way nobody can tell u traitsof ur man
if u find nobody then ask him