2.17.2017

random observations about egypt and egyptian life

I have so many of these saved up, I might as well make them a separate post.

-- All the men trying to “help” you at the sites, and most taxi drivers, and restaurant owners -- pretty much everyone -- ask where you are from. When we say Canada, they say “Canada dry”. Sometimes the next time they see you, they will say “Canada dry!” or they will call out to you “Canada dry! Canada dry!” to get your attention. On a busy day seeing temples and tombs, we might hear this five or six times a day. It is so bizarre!

-- All Egyptian men wear scarves. It’s like there’s some kind of law. Whether over a t-shirt or a galabeya, a scarf appears to be required. They wear them looped several times around with no tail. It is so rare to see an Egyptian man not wearing a scarf, that they look strange without them -- like tourists.

-- Egyptian men are... quite pleasant to look at. OK, I'll say it, they are hot. And charming. I have heard and read that Egypt is the street harassment capital of the world for women travelling without men, to such an extent that many Egyptians are embarrassed by this reputation. My age and my status as part of a couple shields me from this. So with that very large disclaimer, I will say that in my experience Egyptian men are good-looking, charming, and unfailingly polite.

-- Everyone takes care in their appearance. No one seems to go out in public in something you’d hang around the house in, whatever the Egyptian equivalent of sweatpants and an old t-shirt is.

-- Couples and families are out together all the time, but for single people, girls stay with girls and guys with guys. Men greet each other with a handshake and a kiss on the cheek, then the opposite cheek. This is not just a brief air-kiss, it’s very clearly a kiss, complete with kissing sound, on each cheek. In a culture where it is not yet acceptable for gay people to be out, this is interesting to me.

-- Many people here have very bad teeth; obviously there is a lack of access to dental care, and perhaps to education about dental health. But separate from that, many men have teeth stained brown from tea and smoking. Even my young friend Hamdi, who has a beautiful, full smile, has teeth that are mottled brown. (I look at teeth, and I always remember people’s teeth.)

-- When you buy a ticket to one of the ancient sites, if you look in the little ticket window, you will see a big pile of money, or someone rooting through a drawer with a big pile of money thrown into it. The man will rip off two tickets from a ticket book and give them to you, and throw your money in the pile or in the drawer. My library co-workers -- or anyone who is trained in cash-handling -- would be amazed.

-- And in an all-cash business, with a giant pile of cash in front of them, most people do not want to make change. The ATMs only dispense large bills, but you need “small money” for many small purchases and for baksheesh (tips for services). If you stand your ground and insist you have no small money, they will eventually give you change.

-- One rule of travelling in Egypt, which I knew in advance, is to carry a roll of toilet paper in your bag or backpack. Abdul taught us the second rule: carry one-pound coins to tip the attendant. This person hands out a portion of toilet paper and you give them one pound.

-- In the visitors centre at the Karnak Temple, two men were standing guard in front of the washroom, collecting a coupon or chit from people on a tour, obviously something their tour guide gave them. I was also waiting, and when it was my turn, I indicated I had no money. They started yelling, insisting I pay them. I continued on into the washroom as they called "Come back here! You must pay!" These men were not handing out toilet paper or keeping the washroom clean, they were just collecting money from paying customers using the facilities! What a racket!

-- In the same washroom line, two female tourists tried to shove me out of the way to go ahead of me. Allan and I have seen this behaviour several times from tourists, always women, apparently Chinese. People talk about the “ugly American,” which is a real thing, but Americans in tour groups are sheep compared to these women. They will just shove you out of the way (or try to) and push past you, without looking at you or acknowledging your presence in any way. I wonder, do they live in a world where if you don’t push and shove, you are left behind, get nothing? To us, it’s incredibly rude. I can only imagine what it looks like to people from cultures more polite than ours... such as Egyptians.

-- I now understand the usage of the word inshalla, meaning (roughly) “god willing”. People here say it for any future event. How long will you be in Egypt, inshalla? I answer “three weeks,” and the other person adds, “inshalla”. When are you leaving for Luxor, inshalla? It’s a way of humbling yourself, reminding yourself that the future is not in your control, and obviously, a belief that the final say will be your god’s.

No comments: