People

The population is made up of mainly Moslems and Coptic Christians. The main day of worship is Fridays, which is their weekend holiday. Government offices, Institutions, and Banks close Fridays and Saturdays. The food is varied, chicken and lamb are popular, as is rice, pasta, beans and Pita bread. Tea(Shei) is the main drink of the Egyptians, and is served frequently with mint. Egyptians keep themselves and their homes very clean. Cairo in particular is a 24 hour city when most stores and activities go on around the clock non-stop Its common form of greeting to see men or women holding hands, linking arms, and embracing on the cheek with others of the same sex. This is their culture and there are no sexual overtures to it. Men and women do not show affection to each other in public. It is acceptable to hold, or link arms with your partner in public, but that is it. To be on the safe side, and so as not to offend, it is best to follow what you see.

Smoking

Smoking is quite prevalent, although it is banned in all food restaurants. If you are a smoker yourself you might want to try smoking the water pipe (Shesha) in one of the many street cafes.. Alcohol: Egyptians in general do not drink, there are severe restrictions on the purchase of alcohol. Restaurants and tourist spots do serve alcoholic drinks, and if you have purchased duty free, you may drink it in your room. However, alcohol is not readily available to purchase by the bottle, and Alcoholic drinks can be expensive. You should check the price first before ordering, so there are no surprises... Crime: Crime is low, no rape . It is safe to walk the streets at any time of day, like all cities you should be cautious and attentive to your whereabouts.

Tipping

In Arabic it is called Backshish. We have 12% service charge usually included in most hotels & restaurants bills; however, you are expected to add a little extra.

Photographs

You will have no problem in finding beautiful scenery to take pictures, but you should avoid of military sites, and in some places there is an extra charge for cameras.

Media & Press

We have numerous Radio stations, some of which are multilingual for tourists and foreigners living in Egypt. Also we have many local TV channels in Arabic and one in English and French. We have various Newspapers and periodicals in Arabic & English in addition to the Satellite where you can see the news & the media of every part of the world.