|
|
 |
 |
Culture |
|
|
| Religion
and family life make up a
cornerstone of Egyptian culture. Its religion, Islamic or Christian, provides the strong unifying
bond between family members, friends, as well as strangers.
Egypt is one of the very
few nations left in the
world, where strangers actually greet each other in
the streets. In short, the life of an
Egyptian usually revolves
around the dictated values
of his or her
religion. Nevertheless, the dichotomy that is
inherent in the Egyptian way of
life cannot, by all means, be underestimated.
|
|
|
|
In the rural areas, the inhabitants
still live the traditional life of their
ancestors. The villagers , more commonly known as the " Fallahin "
, depend entirely on agriculture
and live in very modest mud-brick houses. These
mud-brick houses usually
consist of just one large room which
holds the entire family. In t his patriarchal
community,
decision making invariably falls to the head of the family, namely
the husband. Male chauvinism is also an
inherent part of the community and young girls are given very little freedom as
compared to her brothers. |
|
|
| Family
ties
are very strong, and neighbors are
usually treated as family. Sexual
relations between
unmarried couples are strictly forbidden, and are looked
down upon
as being unchaste, as well as
a great religious offense. For
Muslims, drinking alcohol, gambling, or
eating pork are also strongly
forbidden . This traditional system of
Egyptian values managed to
find its way into the
urban societies, but with a few
variations here and there, urban
communities tend to lead a more modern and westernized
lifestyle. As you move up the social scale, this
westernization seems to
increase, and of course with McDonalds just around the block, the
younger generations have completely
adopted the “ American ” way of
life ,
creating a huge
gap between parents and
their younger , more
“open-minded” children. |
|
|
| The two largest cities are Cairo and
Alexandria, and because of the extreme centralization
we have in Egypt, both cities
are the heart of the country
and everything revolves around
them. Urban
migration has been too
common in Egypt for the
past 20 years,
stretching Cairo’s population beyond
all limits. In general, Egyptians are renowned
for there kindness, patience, and extreme sense of humor. They
are extremely patriotic, and any
offense to t heir nation, culture or
religion will not be tolerated. On
the other hand, you’ll
notice that they are extremely
helpful, friendly, and always smiling.
Many Egyptians speak English
as a second language,
( some speak French ), and so communicating
with them should not be a problem. Egyptian men love to flirt, to
smoke " Sheesha ", and most of all they love soccer. The
two most popular soccer teams
are " Ahly " and " Zamalek ", mention them and
you’re bound to strike a conversation. |
|
|
|
Watching soccer is probably
the number one form of male recreation
in the country, along with going to
"Al-Ahwa " ( the coffee shop ) to smoke " Sheesha ",
play
backgammon, and drink tea.
To socialize with the men,
it's usually about politics, women, or soccer. With women, it's usually just
gossip or cooking. Most of
Egyptian
women are housewives, with the husband
providing all the income.
Only among the
upper class and the younger
generations you'll find working
women . As far religion
is concerned , most men and women are
considered religious , with just a few
extremists here and there . You may recognize
the extremists by their long unshaved beard
and very short hair.
Usually they have a spot of dead skin on their foreheads from excessive praying.
Unlike what is said, there is no threat from these people, they simply
mind their own business.
|
|
|
|
You’ll notice that the
people are quite conservative when it comes to dress code. They don’t
wear
shorts in the summer, even though it gets really
hot. Only in summer
resorts, by swimming pools, or by the beach may you
see them in shorts
and swimsuits. Rural men wear long white robes, known as " Galabiya ", while
urban
men wear pants ( often jeans depending
on how westernized ) and shirts. Most Egyptian women
are
veiled, covering their hair with
a piece of cloth, known as " Hejab ", and
wearing long sleeves. Nevertheless with the increasing westernization, many have
discarded the veil, and dress normally like European
women on the conservative side. As
with the younger
generations, they just follow the latest “
American ” fashion trends: Levis, hot pants,
tight shorts, tight skirts, bikinis etc.. |
|
|
|
|
