vi INTRODUCTION
This revised edition of CultureShock! Egypt brings with it what
I hope is an even better understanding of what it is like living
in Egypt if you are a Westerner. I have been going to Egypt
since 1988 and have had the privilege of living there in fairly
typical, upper-middle class Egyptian neighborhoods (Garden
City and Zamalek). I purposely chose not to live where most
Americans live because it felt ‘right’ to me to be where I was.
A new friend recently confi rmed my impression that something
‘happens’ to some of us when we go to Egypt—we feel like we
have ‘come home’. If this happens to you, please recognise
that you are not alone and enjoy.
Just the word ‘Egypt’ brings to mind visions of pyramids,
grand temples, gigantic monuments, mummies and king-
gods, all relics of one of the oldest civilisations in the world.
To many, it will forever be the ‘land of the Pharaohs’, a place
where agriculture and advanced mathematics developed. But
the long reign of the Pharaohs and grand monuments passed
away nearly 2,000 years ago. Life in Egypt has changed, and
changed a lot, since the time when grand temples and statues
were built to worship its king-gods.
Today, Egypt is a developing North African country of over
60 million people facing new challenges as it moves through
the 21st century. Egypt is a land of proud, honourable families,
each trying to do the same things families do everywhere in
the world within the confi nes of their government, religion,
culture and values. Like people everywhere, they concern
themselves with love, work, family, doing the ‘right’ things and
having their children grow up to be ‘good’ people.
As humans, each of us faces the world within the confi nes
of our culture (that complex mixture of beliefs, behaviours and
societal rules which tell us what is right and wrong, good and
bad). Hopefully, this book will bring greater understanding
of the Egyptian culture: of ‘who’ modern Egyptians are, how
they view life from their cultural perspective, and how they
go about facing challenges in a rapidly changing world. In the
words of modern Egyptians: Ahlan wa sahlan! (AH-lan wa-SAH-
lan)—Welcome! You are welcomed to Egypt!CS! Egypt.indb vi 3/14/11 10:48 AM