226 CultureShock! Egyptlot of this relates to divorce laws, but laws nevertheless.
Does this mean Egyptians don’t mess around? No,
but be assured that discretion is definitely a must! In
point of fact, they just don’t care about foreigners as
long as they do not flaunt unacceptable (by Egyptian
standards) behaviour.
The subject of extra-marital affairs brings up another topic
of interest. What about mixed-gender couples who travel
together or live together? This gets a little tricky and there is
definitely a double standard. An Egyptian man and woman
who are not married to each other cannot register in a hotel
room together under the law. On the other hand, usually
(though not at all hotels), a foreign unmarried man and
woman can register to stay in the same room. But a foreigner
cannot register to be in the same room with an Egyptian of
the opposite sex if they are not married. So, what do people
do? They get separate rooms and carry on as before.Travel and Tourism
‘Experience Egypt as a guest, not as a tourist’—this phrase
is from Maryanne Stroud’s website describing her riding
facilities at Recoub Al Sorat, or Riding the Righteous Path
(http://www.alsorat.com/index). She and Tracy Karbus, who
has the riding facility at Abu Sir, Giza, have experienced Egypt
as tourists and also as residents. As they say, “We know the
difference... Visiting Egypt in buses that never leave the main
roads misses the rich cultural diversity here.”Tour Guides
Medhat: ‘Value Added Guide’
A chance to experience the rich culture that is really Egypt
inextricably pulled me toward Medhat when I first met him
in 1994. I had a group of 14 university students with me,
and had booked all of our travel
and tours through an agency in
the US. As our good luck would
have it, Medhat turned out to be
our boat Egyptologist. Medhat
was (and continues to be) a‘It is our pleasure to receive every
tourist in Egypt as an honoured
guest and a VIP.’
—Minister of Tourism
at a recent German
tourist trade show