Do's n Don'ts on coming to Cairo

[MaidenScotland]

I have just been contacted yet again by an Egyptian man on this forum, so for all you people coming to Egypt.

Do..... take your time in settling in and finding your way around.
Do.....make friends with Egyptians but at first limit this to the people you work with.
Do.....observe the culture, remember your the foreigner.
Do.....try to learn a little Arabic, it goes along way.
Do....contact your embassy, they will have a list of doctors/lawyers etc who speak english.

Don't..... meet Egyptian men from forums such as this, who are offering Arabic lessons/guides/coffee/flats/cars/drivers.
On the whole these men are opportunists and they would never offer to meet an Egyptian woman.

Don't...... flaunt your wealth.
Don't.......if you are in Cairo, wear shorts and vest type tee shirts
Don't......pay the taxi driver when you are still in the cab, get out and then pay him
Don't......expect to live here cheaply, you will never get Egyptian prices.
Don't......treat your maid like a slave.

[islam]

hi everyone, well iam egyptian and in fact since i become a member here and i don't like comments in the forum that are made, unfortunately by expats, when people ask questions about egypt or anything here they scare them, give them the idea that Egypt is Hell, why is that? and if Egyp is hell why you are here? if your countries are heaven so why you left it?
no one takes it personally, i only signed in this forum coz my fiancee is American, and i thought if i signed here i will find people who are from USA or any other part of the world who would be friends to my fiancee, and make her feel she is not far from home, but i feel afraid that if she came and know one of you guys she hates Egypt, she wants to come here and stay with me for one year and then we can go to USA or to any other place, i suggested to her Dubai coz i lived there and know it very well, and she also knows it coz we met there in dubai, but i wanted her to stay in Egypt for a while and see my country, but with your opinions she will scare away and leave back.
i don't know, any place in the world has advantages and disadvantages, even Dubai that everyone dreams of it, its much less beautiful than Egypt, its fake, everything there is fake, it was made for rich peope to live in it, but in Egypt you will find everything.
like, why Egypt is not a good place for a single woman or single mother coming from another contry, are men here wolves? ok, lets make a comparison, my fiancee,said to me that she dont like the big cities in USA coz its dangerous, full of prostitutes, she is afraid for her kids to grow there, although she dont live in a city, she lives in a small town, but she still afraid, she is telling me alot about how horrible there for kids, to see whores, and drunk people, and hear bad words, and danger everywhere, people kill for fun, she told me that, iam not creating it, can you find that in Egypt? yes we have thieves, but does anyone dare in the day and rob you by a gun or a knife? NO,never, if a woman walks alone in the night what will happen to her? she will get raped? so go to the statistics and count how many rape cases in your countries?
iam sorry to talk too much, but its really pissed me off to see how many comments can scare people away from Egypt, and if my fiancee read this what will be her opinion,
all what iam trying to do is making plans for her and for the kids so they have fun here, iam trying to do my best coz i love her so much, but comments like yours can ruin her opinion about egypt, although she loves Egyptl and she wanted to come here since she was a kid.
sorry again, and wish you talk about the good things in Egypt as you mention the bad things.

[MaidenScotland]

This forum is for expats living or coming to Egypt, not how things are in the USA.
Are you telling me there are no prositutes in Egypt?
That you will not get raped?
You will not get robbed at knifepoint?
Are you telling me that Egyptian men do not have a terrible reputation for approaching expat woman in the hope of money. sex, visa to the west?
Are you telling me that a single woman here is not treated as fair game?
Are you telling me that your government honestly gathers and lets it's people know its crime figures?
If you believe these things do not happen then you must be in a coma.
And is she is so afraid of staying in America why are your plans to stay here for one year then go to the USA?

Other than the traffic I have never said life here is hell, I have a very good life, but even thought you are Egyptian I know better than you how it is to be a single expat woman living in your country.

[Veronica]

If anyone is contacted by men on this forum who they feel mayhave utlerior motives please report it to a moderator or admin. This forum is for helping each other not for men to pick up unsuspecting females.
If they are reported they will be banned.

Veronica

[cairo]

maiden i agree its hard being a single expat woman ,my best friend is italian and an egyptian male abused her and took from her abt 100 000 euros in a very short ,as u know the stories father operation bla bla ,i am glad u r a smart lady and didnt pass by that experience ,now she is much more careful than before but she doesnt c the rest of her egyptian friends as bad ppl ,to be careful is a must and i always advise that and i always telling my foreign friends never deal in financial terms but on the other hand there r good egyptians who are really friendly and r just willing to help or just having a good frienship relation .hehe we say in egypt hold the stick from the middle ,always a balanced reaction is the best

[khater]

guys why is it happeneing again same argument same people,know this forum is for expats but gues locals or whoever r welcomed as long as they r really intrested in helping and supporting other members
i know many people local/forign use this forum to meet others for all reasons
but no one is allowed to aspproach other members in this forum if u wana meet a man/lady simply post a thread and people will contact u if they r intrested
and plz stop the argument about locals and forign yes many egyptian men wana meet forign ladies and many older ladies r seeking tanned young men too everyone is free just dont hassle others.
maidensct. som egyptians do like western way of life and mixing with expats and their lifestyle even if they will not get married oir get the visa

[khater]

people who have lived here or in middle east for a while may have noticed that egyptians arabs or middle easterns r very pround and totally sensitive to critisism,we may laugh at ourselves and critisise ourselves countries all day but would never bare a single word from a forigner,somehow we r inmature but thats how it is so i think just to make things cool down here between members we should keep that in mind
cairo,islam yes we do have a bad reputation i have seen that myself and if you do care about it try giving good impressions and expalining to them not just attacking their own countries and cultures neither here or there is hell nor heaven

[New Gal]

Not one of us have said Egypt is hell or not to live here as a single woman or otherwise. I am in my 20s, single, independent and proud to be so. I don’t look European but am still confident and switched on enough to be able to walk about in short skirts and I dare any man to even try it on with me as he will run off soon enough.

However, that’s an exception and I am only aware of certain things because of what I have seen in life, other people moving to Egypt are unaware of the dangers, EVERY country has dangers and things that you just shouldn’t do, that’s all we are telling our fellow expats to be aware of. Some women, said to say, are very naïve or just choose not to see the danger signs. That’s who we are warning. Some women think that these “friendly offers” of help are just that and can’t see the big red DANGER sign that Maiden and I can, that’s who we are writing to.

This forum is for EXPATS. If people wanted local opinion, they would ask their neighbours, colleagues, local shopkeeper etc etc. Moving to a different country is a very, very stressful experience hence why you would ask other people who have made the transition for their tips and advice.

If some of the locals have so many friends already, why are you on looking for more? You want to “lean about different cultures”, pick up a book sometime. Or as you have no problems getting a visa, go travelling. That’s what normal people do. I have never used a forum to “make friends and exchange cultures”, I joined expat forums to help with my move and if I have made friends from there, that’s an aside, its not my primary reason for joining. You’re educated and “have an education and business” yet most of you can’t spell even the simplest words like caesarean and we are supposed to take you seriously? Come on, we have spelt it out that you wont get what you are looking for here so move on and allow us to feel safe on a forum like this which is a great resource to exchange tips with people that we actually have something in common with.

[cairo]

i do travel and read books , i am also here to help expats if they need help ,and as 4 the spelling mistakes everybody does that mistakes especially when its not ur native language,i am not here for a primary intention meeting ladies ,i am more than happy to help any expats not just ladies ,families or male expats too are more than welecomed if they need any help

[Veronica]

Quote'yet most of you can’t spell even the simplest words like caesarean and we are supposed to take you seriously?'Unquote
New Gal
That is a very harsh criticism of someone whose native language is not English.
Can you claim to be fluent enough in any language other than English not to make any spelling mistaks when writing that language.?
I would be more than willing to bet that you cannot even speak another language with a reasonable degree of fluency never mind write it.
Take a look at some of the other forums and you will see that there are many British posters who cannot spell the simplest words so please do not criticise people who are not native english speakers but who make the effort.

I am closing this thread now as I do not like the way this has become a witch hunt.
Please can you all make an effort to be more understanding of each others cultures and stop sniping all the time.

Veronica