Culture Shock! Egypt - A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette

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6 CultureShock! Egypt


Tipping Tip
Do not tip in foreign coins as these cannot be exchanged. If you
are curious about the current offi cial exchange rates, you can
check your currency against the Egyptian pound at:
„ http://fi nance.yahoo.com/currency
„ http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Should you need additional assistance, you can summon
a tourist policeman in an emergency (you should also tip the
policeman if he gives assistance).
At some point following your arrival (whether by
air, sea or land), you will begin to notice many men in
uniforms, frequently with assault weapons. A heavy
security presence is apparent to travellers throughout the
country, though it is clearly more apparent at some times
and places than others. Shortly after the September 11
tragedy in 2001 at the World Trade Centers in New York,
I needed a little break, so left Cairo for a short cruise in
Upper Egypt. To me, security was strong, but did not look
abnormally high. However, a South African lady I chanced
to meet along the way, quietly pulled me aside and asked
if this was ‘normal’. Since it did not look unusual to me, I
assured her that it was normal, just something she might
not be used to. You will see uniformed guards everywhere in
Egypt—on the streets, at all monuments, frequently at hotel
entrances—basically everywhere. Some are police, some
are tourist police, some represent various branches of the
armed services, and some are special security forces. After a
while, you will be able to notice if something looks ‘unusual’.
There is a standard joke in Egypt, which says that most of the
people you see with assault weapons do not have bullets or
if they do, the bullets don’t fi t the gun. I have never trusted
this witticism, especially since it would be totally impossible
to tell which is which even if it is true. Your best bet is to
assume that if there is a gun, the holder has ammunition
that fi ts the weapon.
If you are coming from a country where the presence of
armed guards on every street is uncommon, the sight of so
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