The kind hearted helpful Egyptian people?

Question

When a visitor walks in the streets of Egypt and need to ask for the right way of something not easy to find. Kind hearted Egyptians try to help as possible even if they don't know the place he is asking for. It's funny as he may lose his way later of course, but don't you think it's great thing if we have the right understanding ?.
They are happy to help and everybody even who is not asked may try to help. I would say I don't know when I don't know of course and I try to offer translation and calling someone who may know the place.
Now you can ask more than one person to be sure of the information provided and enjoy the feeling that a lot of people are willing to help.
What is your opinion Egyptians and visitors ?

Answer 1

I do know exactly what you are talking about!

I live in the UAE and of all expats living here I can get along best with Egyptians. I work together with them and I go shopping at Egypt stores; even have an Egypt chat friend and also receive some great answers in this section here.

When I got here I found out that the friendliest people work in stores with Egyptian staff. I just went by pix to go shopping and we could not communicate with each other. The store owner found a way to help me out. I am allowed to tast almost everything when I do not know what it is. And yes, it happened a lot that I tried to talk to people with hands and feet and some other consumers just jumped in and helped us out.

I have an Emirati girlfriend and she wants to take me for a trip to Egypt. She even said that there is a big difference between the Pakistani and the Egypt cab drivers. Most cab drivers here are rude and have no manners (well, some do).

When I have to order something from my pharmacy run by Egypts, the girl working only mornings she calles me in the evening to make sure I got what I wanted.

One day I posted a question regarding book keeping. Right away I had an answer and a day later an excellent Excel Sheet to work with.
Have another Chat friend from Egypt who is also a YA member and she is such a sweetheart.

THANKS TO: DRYEST FLAME AND INAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

All of you take care and stay the way you are!

Answer 2

It all depends where you go in Egypt and of course the individuals that you meet along the way. Yes some individuals do try to rip people off but Egypt is not a rich country and people are hungry, doesn't make it right just means that's the way it is. Some of the kindest people around are from outside of Cairo places like Mansoura, places that most visitors don't get to because its not so touristic.

There are still many Egyptians around that will feed their guests before themselves, its this hospitality that gives Egypt its millions of return travellers every year.

God bless Egypt and its people

Answer 3

Everyone wants to be helpful if they can. Good for the Egyptians.

Here in London where I live, you'll probably get a dozen different descriptions of directions from the same number people. And, you can never find a copper when you want one.

Best advice in London is to consult your faithful Tube map and stick to that. When you get to the nearest tube station to where you are going, you can either pickup a free map of the local area, or you'll see one on a wall in the Tube station entrance.

Ask a Cockney and you'll get...."turn left at the Green Man, follow the road until you come to the next right hand turn, turn left here, past the Crown and Anchor and when you see the Old Duck Inn, you're nearly there."

Answer 4

Well i do agree to an extent, unlike the jerk above and I don't think that he will be the only reply of this nature - just a feeling!
Now, back to the question, in some cases people will be most helpful but on the other hand some use this to take you off to their own or a friends shop or bar, i have had this happen to me so beware of who you ask, some are very helpful and appear kind hearted but some do this to help themselves, i have this reported to me so often by guest too!

Answer 5

yes i think some Egyptians can be very helpful. one time we had booked a taxi driver to pick us up at a certain time and place and he couldn't come so he sent another driver to collect us. Unfortunatly the other driver spoke no English and when he tried to make us get into his car we thought he was just touting for business so we said no. the driver found a stranger who spoke English and translated for us.
but there is the opposite side of the coin where an apparent helpful stranger helped me and a friend find our way it took him less than a minute and then demanded 50 EP for doing virtually nothing.

Answer 6

Yes and No. I had a taxi driver who got lost once coming from Downtown to the city stars and still charged me double....and Ive had people go out of their way to help....I had a guy 'befriend' me at a cafe then take to place where i got charged double. It seems that people are MUCH more eager to help when there is no obivous money to be made in the deal. But these same people pay no attention when people beat their donkeys mercilessly, whip the horse, and they walk right by handicapped people and orphans. IN OTHER WORDS< EGYPTIANS ARE GREAT AT HELPING AS LONG AS IT DOESNT COST ANYTHING.,,,,I once beat a guy up in Heliopolis as i saw him whipping a lame horse....You seem to think the 'surface niceness' actually counts for something....rather have people less 'nice' and more helpful to the poor....Peace

Answer 7

Hi Wise Heart.... Big E.P. here......... On the whole the majority that I have met have had hearts as big as Cairo, no ulterior motive for helping in time of need & without question. Then unfortunately you have those who will only help for their own gain...... example.... One of our neighbours buckled the wheel of our daughters bike by reversing his car over it, it was on our land & he drove onto it to turn his car around, he also damaged some plants but as nobody was hurt we chose to ignore this......he did kindly offer to take the bike to be repaired & when he returned with the bike he asked not only for the cost of the repair but also for the money it had cost him for benzine & the time he had spent taking it there & back!
Whilst I have tremendous love for this Country, the culture, the people & I feel safer here than any othr Country in the world, I can't make excuses for people like him! Unfortunately we have some bad people here too.... in fact you will always find good & bad wherever you go! We must not allow ourselves to walk around wearing "rose tinted glasses"
"Not all our fingers are the same length"..... this is so true!

Answer 8

Though Egyptians sound like wonderful people, especially if they are all like you. I do think it's human nature to want to help when you feel needed. There have been studies on it.

***after reading all these answers, I can see I was wrong. You sound much nicer than Americans! human nature must have given extra kindness to Egyptians.

Answer 9

One of the strongest muscles we, as Egyptians have, is in our tongues, the Egyptians -to bad luck adore to preach, and play the role of the guides, (most of the time without knowledge) that was the main reason of our disasters since 1948,,anyway, People do not help when they guide others wrongly , People do not help when they transport an injured person by themselves (they cause more damage than the injury itself, and illegal in most of the world) People do not help when they feel they know and they really do not know, it is not kind heart, it is the mentality of (al muffti), and the nosy attitude -when u see all looking to your cart in a supermarket to know what you have bought,, They said a person who likes to guide is subconsciously wants to feel superior,

I had help from different people in different countries, I will never forget a police car which accompanied me in Miami Florida, to guide me to an address, I will never forget a real gang (criminals) in the district of the sunrise of Florida (Afro Americans) who guided me to where I live when I moved there recently,and was lost . I will never forget a dancer who picked my up from south Miami beach because she felt sorry for me and the money I would pay for a cap, I will never forget someone who guided me to Holland in the miss of the trains , accompanied me all the way from Germany to Holland (in her way of course ), I will never forget a guy who guided me in Guinea , so the people in a market would not cheat me, I will never forget the help I received from a Jewish family in the States , where to buy good things with reasonable prices, in Turkey, where to go to eat , even in South Africa I had great help there from lots of people , The worst help I had was in Saudi Arabia when I asked for a place and the policeman told me ' There 'with his head and did not even bother to point...
Even abroad some people make mistakes, and some people play also el muffti as we do ,but not that much as they prefer to say (I do not know) and that is it ,if they do not really know…
One of the problems of Us, the Egyptians, is that we think that we are unique, in the world , that was because of the brain washing of the past, we are like everyone else in it , we have our good ones and bad ones that is normal,,, but the fact that we are trying to prove : we are ‘wow’ in that way (the kindest, the strongest, the most clever...etc), will not bring any good than the laugher of all the rest of the entire world at us,,
I am proud being Egyptian, but the world out there is not that different than here, only more discipline, education and less irresponsibility

Answer 10

As experience with my Egyptian friends, I can describe them in one word. WONDERFUL