Living in Egypt

Health Care

God forbid you return from your mountain trek or desert safari with a broken limb or dehydration, then Cairo offers a number of medical establishments for treatment. However many of Cairo's hospitals suffer from antiquated equipment and a cavalier attitude to hygiene but there are several exceptions: There is the Anglo-American Hospital (735 616 / Sharia Hadayek al-Zuhreyya west of Cairo Tower), As-Salamp International Hospital (524 0250 / Corniche el-Nil, Maadi) and the Cairo Medical Center (258 1003 / Midan Roxy Heliopolis).

There is no shortage of pharmacies in Cairo and almost anything can be obtained without a prescription. Pharmacies that operate 24 hours include Isaaf (574 3369) on the corner of Sharias Ramses and 26th of July, Downtown; Zamalek Pharmacy (736 6424) at 3 Shagaret ad-Durr, Zamalek; and Al-Ezaby (418 0838) at 1 Ahmed Tayseer, Heliopolis. Health conscious folk may want to check out the Sekem Health Store (342 4979) at 6 Ahmed Sabry in Zamalek. It stocks organic fruit and vegetables, additive-free jams, honey, herbs and pulses as well as a range of herbal and homoeopathic teas.

Please ensure that you clarify the medical cover offered in your employment contract and determine the recommended procedures for minor and serious ailments. Employers should offer some level of medical insurance and you should acquaint yourself with the local pharmacies and the recommended medical centres and hospitals.

Food and drink

Now it is time to recharge the batteries and refuel for the next expedition. While there are many wonderful things about Egypt, food is not one of them. Egyptian cuisine is crude and boring, vegetables are over boiled and meats are heavy and oily. However there is good fayre to be had if you can accept the lack of variety and at a good price too. Egyptian staples fuul and taamiyya, kushari, shwarma and fiteer. Popular starters are soups, salads and mezze. Main dishes include kofta and kebab, not to mention chicken and fish, and there is sugar loaded confectionary for dessert, but do not expect the standards of cakes from Sayers and Greggs in the UK!

Fast-food chains are mushrooming in Cairo with over 30 international franchises in town including the usual favorites of Pizza Hut, KFC and McDonald's.

There are vegetarian options at L'Aubergine (735 6550 / 5 Sayed al-Bakry, Zamalek), Al-Omada (345 2387 / 6 Sharia al-Gazayer, Mohandiseen). Also menus at Al-Tabei ad-Dumyati or Felfela Restaurant in central Cairo, Maroosh in Mohandiseen or Chabarawis in Heliopolis feature a lot of non-meat dishes.

There is budget dining in plenty of small fuul and taamiyya places concentrated in the sidestreets around Tawfiqiyya Souq. North of Midan Talaat Harb, you can also try Abu Tarek (40 Sharia Champollion), Akher Saa (8 Sharia Alfy) and At-Tahrir (19 Abdel Khalek Street). This last one is Kushari only; these restaurants are great places; a hive of bustling activity, noisy kitchens, takeaway shoppers jostling for attention, and busy waiters serving huge quantities of food and water in stainless steel plates, pots and mugs. South of Midan Talaat Harb there is a huge array of juice stands, kushari restaurants, bakeries, fuul and taamiyya places and Felfela takeaway outlets. In Islamic Cairo there is the Egyptian Pancake House (Midan Husein), Al Halwagy (Midan Husein) and Naguib Mahfouz Café (5 Sikket al-Badestan). In Zamalek there is Al Dente (26 Bahgat Aly) and Maison Thomas (157 Sharia 26th of July). In Heliopolis there is Amphitrion, Palmyra and Al-Kashef.

There are good restaurants in Downtown Cairo. Examples include Alfy Bey (3 Sharia Alfy), Arabesque (6 Qasr el-Nil), Café Riche (17 Talaat Harb), Da Mario (Nile Hilton Midan Tahrir), Estoril (12 Talaat Harb), Le Bistro for French cuisine (8 Hoda Shaarawi) and Peking Restaurant, yes you guessed it, for Chinese cuisine (14 Sharia Ezbekiyya). Zamalek is the place to eat and be seen, with some excellent dining experiences including L'Aubergine (previously mentioned), Abu as-Sid (157 Sharia 26th of July), Deals (2 Maahad al-Swissry), Hana (Sharia Brazil), La Bodega (157 Sharia 26th of July) and La Piazza (4 Hassan Sabry). In Mohandiseen and Doqqi there are recommendations Abu Shaqra (17 Gamiat ad-Dowal al-Arabiyya), Flux (2 Sharia Gamiat al-Nasr), Prestige for Italian cuisine (43 Sharia Geziret al-Arab), Maroosh (64 Midan Libnan) and Tia Maria for Italian again (32 Sharia Jedah). There is a TGI Friday's (26 Sharia el-Nil) on a boat moored between the University and Giza Bridges and there is Andreas (59-60 Maryoutia Canal Road), Cairo's famous open air chicken restaurant 1.5km north of the Pyramids Road. In Heliopolis there is Le Chantilly and Pizza Express.

Cairo Clubs, Cinemas and Casinos

Certain towns and cities such as Cairo, the southern Sinai resorts and to a certain extent Alexandria, have a great nightlife scene. Cairo, for instance, only comes to life with the setting of the sun. During the summer months, families don't head out to shop until 8pm and the smarter set never make dinner reservations before 10pm. Bars get busy towards midnight and the witching hour is long past before any discos start to fill. It's after 1am when bands begin to kick in and the belly dancers take to their five-star stages, and 4am when the last one bows out.

For beer in Egypt say Stella. It's been brewed and bottled in Cairo now for more than 100 years. The basic version is cheap and tastes okay. There is a rival beer Saqqara, brewed at Al Gouna on the Red Sea. Some bars in the hotels serve imported beers but prices are extremely high. Anyway the place to really be for a good night out is Zamalek where there are several stylish bars within a short walk of each other. There is L'Aubergine, La Bodega, Café Riche and Deals. Downtown there is Odeon Palace Hotel, Windsor Bar and Le Tabasco. Indeed there are plenty of local spit-and-sawdust bars, euphemistically known as cafeterias. Such places are fairly discreet and don't advertise themselves, but if you know what you are looking for they're pretty easy to spot, with saloon-type doors leading to a dark interior. Opening hours are from 11am to 4am.

Cairo's live music scene is next to non-existent. There is a live music spot at TGI Friday's and at the Cairo Jazz Club (197 Sharia 26th of July) for live jazz and blues every night.

Casinos can be found in some of the five-star hotels in Cairo but they are only open to non-Egyptians so take your passport with you. All games are conducted in US dollars and smart attire is required.

Nightclub in the Egyptian sense means a place to sit and eat, or possibly just drink, and watch a floor show that can feature folkloric dancing or a star singer, but the ones that really pull in the crowds concentrate on belly dancing. The best dancers perform at Cairo's five-star hotels for quite a price (Alhambra at the Cairo Sheraton, Haroun al-Rashid at the Semiramis InterContinental and La Belle Epoque at the Meridien Le Caire), but you can find places to watch less exotic dancers for a few pounds and when you have had a few it can be quite fun and lively, especially when the inebriated join in!

You will find discos only in Cairo, Hurghada and the southern Sinai resorts, usually attached to upmarket hotels, with high entrance charges and a strict dress code. In Cairo try the Crazy Horse Disco (366 1082 / 1 Salah Salem) and Africana on the Pyramids Road where the sounds south of the Sahara make up the playlist.

The ahwa or coffee house is one of the great Egyptian social institutions; typically just a collection of cheap tin-plate topped tables and wooden chairs in a sawdust strewn room open to the street. It is a relaxed and unfussy place where the average Ahmed hangs out for a drink, a conversation, a game of dominoes and a shisha; a place not usually frequented by women but foreign females can accompany males and have a good time with no problems. You can find an ahwa practically on every Cairo street but there are a few recommendations including Fishawis a few steps off Midan Hussein in Khan al-Khalili, Ash-Shams tucked in a courtyard alleyway between Sharia 26th of July and Tawfiqiyya Souq, Al-Andalus, tucked away behind the Grand Hotel, and Zahret al-Bustan beside Café Riche.

In Egypt, cinema-going is booming; old movie houses are being refurbished while, in Cairo and Alexandria, new multiplexes have either recently opened or are being built. Screens are split between local output and the latest Hollywood releases. Films are subtitled rather than dubbed. Local cinema goers are big on audience participation so expect clapping, cheering and whooping. Films are subject to censorship and you are not allowed to leave the theatre until the end of the movie. You can catch art house movies at the Cairo Sheraton Cinema, action flicks at the Karim I & II cinema downtown at 5 Sharia Emad ad-Din, and open air screenings at Normandy at 32 Sharia al-Ahram. The Ramses Hilton I & II and the Rennaisance are newer and swisher cinemas.

For music, theatre and dance, go to the Cairo Opera House (342 0601), the city's premier performing arts venue that regularly plays host to famed international names and companies like the Bolshoi Ballet that visits annually. At other times performances by local companies, such as the Cairo Symphony Orchestra and the Cairo Opera Ballet Company are worth watching. As well as the main halls there is also an open air ampitheatre. Check Egypt Today and Al-Ahram Weekly for what's on. Jackets are required by males for hall performances. You can experience music recitals and plays of varying quality at the American University in Cairo and you listen to classical Arabic music at Beit al-Harrawi in Islamic Cairo.

Currency

Well after all that touring and activity you need to replenish your wallet or purse, so let's have a brief look at the currency. The official currency is the Egyptian pound (E£) and one pound consists of 100 piastres (pt). There are notes in denominations of 25pt, 50pt, E£1, E£5, E£10, E£20, E£50, E£100 and E£200. Coins in circulation are for denominations of 10, 20 and 25pt. Prices can be written in pounds or piastres. There is a severe shortage of small change in Egypt (the notes that are handy to have for taxi fares and tipping) so make sure you hoard them.

ATMs are becoming more and more widespread; Cairo is saturated with them, Alexandria has several and there are plenty in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, and a handful in Luxor and Aswan. Where will you find difficulty finding them is between Cairo and Luxor and out in the oases. The ATMs are not all compatible with western cards but they will dispense cash on Visa and MasterCard and any Cirrus or Plus compatible cards.

Credit cards such as AmEx, Visa and MasterCard are becoming ever more useful in Egypt and are now accepted quite widely in shops and restaurants, though away from tourist establishments they are far less common and in remote areas they remain useless. Make sure you retain any receipts to check later against your statements as there have been cases of shop owners adding extra noughts. To report a loss of a card call AmEx on 02 570 3411, MasterCard and Visa on 02 357 1148/9 and Diners Club Card on 02 333 2638.

For international transfers, Western Union is the global transfer specialist. When you have a residency visa your employer will advise on bank accounts and the best way to transfer money back home.

Society and conduct

There is no simple definition of Egyptian society. On one hand there's traditional conservatism, reinforced by poverty, in which the diet is one of fuul, taamiyya and vegetables; women wear the long, black, all-concealing abayyas and men wear galabiyyas (robes); cousins marry; going to Alexandria constitutes a trip of a lifetime; and all is God's will. On the other hand, there are sections of society who order from McDonald's; whose daughters wear slinky black numbers and flirt outrageously; who think nothing of regular trips to Europe or the USA; and who never set foot in a mosque until the day they're laid to rest in one! The bulk of the Egyptian populace falls somewhere between the two extremes and they either live in the city or the country. In the city the people are generally working class living in the hemmed-in streets of an overcrowded suburb in a six storey breeze-block apartment building. The father may have an old car or catches the bus to work, maybe a civil servant in an undemanding underpaid role, borrowing his brother's taxi in the afternoon to earn extra cash, while the mother looks after the house and the children, receiving visitors from other family members. Then there are those that live in the rural areas working the land much as they have since the time of their Pharaonic forebears, but on very small plots insufficient to support their family, and so are forced to supplement their meagre income by other means. The extended family lives in the same house, there is a high rate of female illiteracy and the women dress very conservatively.

Religion

Islam is the predominant religion of Egypt and shares its roots with two of the world's other major monotheistic religions: Judaism and Christianity. Adam, Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus are all accepted as Muslim prophets although Jesus is not recognised as the son of God. The essence of Islam is the Qur'an and the Prophet Mohammed who was the last and truest prophet to deliver messages from Allah to the people. Islam is a very peaceful religion and plays an important role in the lives of Muslims. The religion generally does not affect one's life in Egypt very much but it is important to respect it by dressing conservatively and appreciating special events; such as during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting – it is considered impolite to eat and drink during the hours of daylight.

Language

Arabic is the official language of Egypt. However the Arabic spoken on the streets differs greatly from the standard Classical Arabic written in newspapers, spoken on the radio or recited in prayers at the mosque all throughout the Arab world. Egyptian Colloquial Arabic is a dialect of Arabic, but so different in many respects to Classical Arabic as to be virtually another language.

The working day

Egypt is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time of the Greenwich Meridian in London. There is no summer saving time like in western countries so during the period from April to October the time difference is just 2 hours. Social and working days are very Mediterranean in style; an early start, an afternoon siesta, a return to work and a late meal. This traditional style struggles to preserve in the city, as Egypt moves forward in its commercial development, adjusting its working habits to match the western world. The working week spans from Sunday until Thursday. Friday is a day of rest and worship. Shops tend to open at about 10am (cafés and supermarkets earlier) unless it is Friday when they open at lunchtime. Closing time can be as late as midnight. Despite more western working hours, locals and expatriates alike love to shop and socialise until late. During Ramadan shops and restaurants are open until about 1am! The attitude to time, especially in business, is often very different from the time is money approach in other parts of the world. Locals like to take their time, and business is not usually discussed until the third meeting. Times are changing though.