# Alexandria



## Emily Expat

Anyone give me some do's and dont's travelling please, such as how I conduct myself in public? As a 22 year old blonde Brit - I've heard some real horror stories!


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## MaidenScotland

Hello and welcome to the forum

Alex is more conservative than Cairo but you will be fine if you don't walk about in the heat as if you were in Spain... but the Alex posters will be able to guide you.

maiden


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## Emily Expat

Thanks for your reply, im looking at fashion tips?? lol what exactly is acceptable to wear and what isnt? am i safe out alone? and tips on the men?! Thankss


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## MaidenScotland

No low tops, dont show the tops of your arms and shoulders. no tight clothing although you will see Egyptian girls wearing it.. but as a foreigner wearing it you will be a whore.. No short skirts, trousers preferable.


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## expatagogo

Emily Expat said:


> Thanks for your reply, im looking at fashion tips?? lol what exactly is acceptable to wear and what isnt? am i safe out alone? and tips on the men?! Thankss


Cover your arms to the wrists, your legs to the ankles, and don't let any skin below your breast bone show. A pair of jeans and a long sleeve tee-shirt, for example, would be fine. 

If you are going outside alone, do not do it after dark.

Men? Ignore them and do not, whatever you do, look them in the eye. Understand that men receive very little female attention here and an innocent glance can be easily misconstrued.


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## Emily Expat

Thank you, I have being talking to a few of the lads i met whilst on holiday who are from alex who have offered to take me under their wing so to speak show me around etc.. this is a no go right?


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## expatagogo

Emily Expat said:


> Thank you, I have being talking to a few of the lads i met whilst on holiday who are from alex who have offered to take me under their wing so to speak show me around etc.. this is a no go right?


Don't do it.

You can't be assured of their motives and believe me when I say that police protection is not like it used to be.

What will you do if you find yourself in a bad situation?


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## MaidenScotland

Emily Expat said:


> Thank you, I have being talking to a few of the lads i met whilst on holiday who are from alex who have offered to take me under their wing so to speak show me around etc.. this is a no go right?


lol I bet they have.. they would never offer to show an Egyptian girl around the city.


You haven't said why you are coming but if it is for work make friends with the females, look for expats but keep away from the oohhh so cute local boys.. the very fact you hang around them brands loose morals on you..


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## Alexander86

Emily Expat said:


> Anyone give me some do's and dont's travelling please, such as how I conduct myself in public? As a 22 year old blonde Brit - I've heard some real horror stories!


Just go with the public, stay out of dark areas and u will be safe and sound, Alex is a wonderful city indeed , Cheers


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## hurghadapat

Alexander86 said:


> Just go with the public, stay out of dark areas and u will be safe and sound, Alex is a wonderful city indeed , Cheers


Safe for you being a man...take it that you are male by the spelling of your user name  but unfortunately not quite so safe for a young blonde girl who is probably not egypt savvy yet either.Sad to say but unfortunately Egypt is no longer as safe as it used to be prior to the revolution


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## MaidenScotland

hurghadapat said:


> Safe for you being a man...take it that you are male by the spelling of your user name  but unfortunately not quite so safe for a young blonde girl who is probably not egypt savvy yet either.Sad to say but unfortunately Egypt is no longer as safe as it used to be prior to the revolution




Well said... why men think it is as easy for women as it is for men in the country I do not know.


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## expatagogo

MaidenScotland said:


> Well said... why men think it is as easy for women as it is for men in the country I do not know.


Men don't wear four layers of clothes every time they go outside (can't have anyone see bra/panty lines or they might know you're wearing them!); instead, they wear cotton tee-shirts and shorts, all the while judging whether women are covered up enough or not.


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## mamasue

Emily Expat said:


> Thank you, I have being talking to a few of the lads i met whilst on holiday who are from alex who have offered to take me under their wing so to speak show me around etc.. this is a no go right?



Emily, you're so right... this is the biggest no-go ever!
Being 'taken under the wing' of one or more Egyptian likely lads is the worst thing you can do...
You seem like you're not stupid by any means...The fact that you're asking about dress codes etc. means you're more aware than a lot of women that go there... but Egyptian men will see you as an easy target, for just about everything..and I mean EVERYTHING!!!
Sex, money, lots of women return without even a cellphone, as Egyptian men can be so sincere, look you in the face with such sincerity, and spin you stories that they've been spinning since they were kids.

Can I ask, are you going on vacation, how long for, and are you going alone?

I was living in Hurghada....my 20-something daughter used to fly to Cairo to come and see me...there were always men on the journey that wanted to 'show her around' etc....To put it crudely, they'll be round you like flies round sh*t!

Egypt can be a great experience for a holiday, as long as you keep your wits about you.


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## islander

I am sorry to say that a lot of that which has been written here is correct.

As a bloke I have no problem whatsoever in this wonderful city. The worst that I have had was a car driver who gave me a mouthful of abuse because I made him wait three seconds whilst I walked on the road because the pavement had a sodding great hole in it.

When I walk in the city holding my veiled (scarf, not the full monty!) Egyptian girlfriend's hand we mostly get endearing looks and sweet comments from youngsters; the odd stray look from more mature locals; once or twice have sh!tty comments from the less educated bretheren - most of the comments are aimed at my girlfriend and not at me. Things like: Can't you get a decent man? Why are you screwing that piece of ****.

I have walked the streets day and night without an issue.

My girlfriend has no problem in the city, either. Again, the odd pervy comment from a taxi driver, but hey, taxi drivers the world over have a few weirdos amongst their ranks (no pun intended).

But my European female staff do get comments from lads in the street. Even dressed very conservatively they get comments. I always walk them to their doors of an evening or make sure that they walk in twos or threes.

And whatever you do, don't walk outside looking for your pet cat whilst wearing sandals, leggings, a leopard print top and nothing underneath. One of my staff did and she was harangued by all and sundry!

That all said, you need a bit of the pioneer spirit to be here anyway so I guess that you have a pretty robust nature and can handle yourself.

Enjoy. It is dirty, smelly and bloody disorganised. But it is brilliant. It is home!


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## MaidenScotland

And of course yesterday may just bring in more changes and attitudes


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## islander

Why do Egyptian men think that a call of, 'Oi, whore!' is a chat up line that is sure to work?

Luckily, my staff have not had any of the physical stuff - it is only words but they do annoy after a while. I am told that Cairo is bad for that.

Back to the original post - just as in the UK - if some lad offered to show you round Manchester would you agree to meet him alone? Then the same applies to a local lad offering to show you round Alex.


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## expatagogo

islander said:


> Why do Egyptian men think that a call of, 'Oi, whore!' is a chat up line that is sure to work?


I've asked that question and the answer is usually along the lines of, "They think that's what you want to hear." Considering Egypt has been fed a steady diet of "Jerry Springer" and "Dr. Phil," I can almost see why.

Almost.


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## MaidenScotland

expatagogo said:


> I've asked that question and the answer is usually along the lines of, "They think that's what you want to hear." Considering Egypt has been fed a steady diet of "Jerry Springer" and "Dr. Phil," I can almost see why.
> 
> Almost.




and yet we don't see all Muslims as terrorists..


Almost


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## Mohamed_Hani

I recommend you have someone local you trust with you !

Not anyone ,,, SOMEONE YOU TRUST .. you can find many people saying i will help you or many bla bla bla ,,,, or scams or whatever .. DONT LISTEN TO THEM


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## MaidenScotland

Mohamed_Hani said:


> I recommend you have someone local you trust with you !
> 
> Not anyone ,,, SOMEONE YOU TRUST .. you can find many people saying i will help you or many bla bla bla ,,,, or scams or whatever .. DONT LISTEN TO THEM




lol finding someone to trust is the hard part.... how long would you need to know someone until you trust them?


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## Mohamed_Hani

MaidenScotland said:


> lol finding someone to trust is the hard part.... how long would you need to know someone until you trust them?


it is easy to find someone to trust .. If you know someone from the high society or someone who has a good education ,, it should not be a problem ,, 

for example , American or British taught Egyptians are the best people to deal with around ,, they can offer help with nothing in return .. they are hard to find as they are not as much as 20% of the Egyptian population ,,


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## MaidenScotland

Mohamed_Hani said:


> it is easy to find someone to trust .. If you know someone from the high society or someone who has a good education ,, it should not be a problem ,,
> 
> for example , American or British taught Egyptians are the best people to deal with around ,, they can offer help with nothing in return .. they are hard to find as they are not as much as 20% of the Egyptian population ,,




mmm Alaa and Gamaal Mubarak fit that criteria


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## MaidenScotland

MaidenScotland said:


> mmm Alaa and Gamaal Mubarak fit that criteria




but I do know where to find them


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## hurghadapat

Mohamed_Hani said:


> it is easy to find someone to trust .. If you know someone from the high society or someone who has a good education ,, it should not be a problem ,,
> 
> for example , American or British taught Egyptians are the best people to deal with around ,, they can offer help with nothing in return .. they are hard to find as they are not as much as 20% of the Egyptian population ,,


If that's the case then how come so many lawyers are corrupt....egyptians are egyptians no matter what level of society or education they have reached or who they have been taught by....even egyptians tell you never trust another egyptian.


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## MaidenScotland

I think this has been done to the death after all when 20% of the population is all you can trust it doesn't doesn't give a good picture of the country.. we want people back not to put them off,


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