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

294 CultureShock! Egypt

Papyrus

(pah-PIE-rus)

a tall, aquatic reed (sedge) or

paper originally made from

the stems of the reed

in ancient Egypt

Pharaoh

(FAY-rohs) ancient Egyptian kings

Piaster or piastre

(pea-AS-ter)

a segment of the Egyptian

pound (E£), Egypt’s monetary

currency. An Egyptian pound

is made up of 100 piastres.

One piastre is approximately

equivalent to less than one-

third of a US cent.

Qur’an

(KOOR-rahn) the holy book of Islam

Ramadan

(RAH-mah-dahn)

the holy month of fasting

for Muslims

Saidi

(sy-EE-dee)

the dialect of Arabic spoken

in Upper Egypt

Saqqara

(sahk-KAH-rah)

the necropolis (cemetery) of

Egypt when Memphis was

its capital in the days of the

Old Kingdom

Septimus Severus Roman Emperor who ruled

from AD 193–211

Sham el-Nessim

(SHEM el-NESS-sem)

‘scent of spring’;

a festival of spring

Shisha

(SHEE-sha)

Shisha is a gummy form

of tobacco combined with

molasses. Sometimes flavours,

such as apple, are added to

the tobacco. This Egyptian

tobacco is smoked in large

water pipes by men at cafés

and at home.

Shistosomiasis

(SHIS-toe-so-MY-a-sis)

a tropical disease caused by a

parasite called shistosome