Communicating Egyptian Style 253walking. Regardless of whether you are with Egyptians or
other foreigners, kissing, fondling or other public displays of
intimacy are strictly taboo throughout Egypt.
Except when shaking hands, men should be careful never
to touch Egyptian women except in an emergency. If she
falls on the street, it is probably all right to pick her up, but
remove your hands as quickly as possible. Women—if a man
falls, let him get up on his own or let other men assist him
as necessary. Do not intervene unless you are a doctor and
the person’s life or safety is at stake.
Egyptian Time
The clock reads the same in Egypt, but responses and
expectations differ signifi cantly from those in the West.
Working on Egyptian time boggles the mind. Things happen
when they happen, no sooner. If you are on a tight schedule,
you are probably destined to suffer severe frustration.
Your best bet is to simply learn to work in approximate
time schedules.
I have occasionally asked friends how long it would take
to walk or drive to some place nearby. Invariably the answer
seems to be the same. Except on rare occasions, every place
is ten minutes’ walk or drive. My usual response is, “Ten
Egyptian minutes or American minutes?”
I view Egyptian time as a process of ‘Yalla! Yalla!—Wait.’
Yalla! simply means ‘Let’s go!’ or ‘Hurry up!’ No matter how
much you hurry, inevitably interminable waits follow your
haste. Expect delays and adjust—it is the norm.
Queuing
Forget you ever knew the concept, it does not happen in
Egypt! Just like driving, people traffi c in Egypt knows no
lane markers. Only a forced queue could possibly persuade
Egyptians to ‘wait in line’.
Once I watched a number of Americans dutifully form
what they perceived to be a line while waiting to get a
ticket for the Metro. Totally confounded by people slipping
outstretched arms with money in front of them, the
Americans still waited in line. They just kept standing, unsure