# Really? Egypt? why?



## Ehab91

Why Egypt? even us Egyptians hate this country to the core, I never really understood why do I still see foreigners roaming around the streets of Cairo, why would anyone (able to actually chose another country to live in) still accepts the idea of living in Egypt.

What really brought you here? or at least who was holding a gun to your head?


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## MaidenScotland

Money


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## Ehab91

MaidenScotland said:


> Money


Hmmm.. I can't imagine we have have enough money in Egypt to actually convince someone fro a civilized nation to come and stay here.


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## MaidenScotland

Ehab91 said:


> Hmmm.. I can't imagine we have have enough money in Egypt to actually convince someone fro a civilized nation to come and stay here.




Your imagination is surely lacking


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## Gounie

Ehab91 said:


> Why Egypt?
> 
> What really brought you here? or at least who was holding a gun to your head?


The climate with year round sunshine.
The amazing underwater reefs, marine life and shipwrecks.
History, culture and tradition.
The desert and mountains.
Oasis villages with a traditional crafts.
Not needing to own a car where I live and being able to walk or bicycle everywhere.
The River Nile and farmland.
Fresh fruit and vegetables covered in dirt that have flavour.
And last but by no means least, the Egyptian people.

Thank you Egypt for the most amazing ten years of my life!!


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## Biffy

Mmmmmmm - you surely don't live in Cairo - not much of those here!!


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## Gounie

Biffy said:


> Mmmmmmm - you surely don't live in Cairo - not much of those here!!


No I was talking about Egypt in general, which was the original question, and also where I live year round on the Red Sea Coast. Plus ten years of travel around Egypt, it is an amazing and stunnningly beautiful country. I also love to visit Cairo and no I don't envy anyone who has to work and commute everyday in the traffic and pollution.


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## Ehab91

Gounie said:


> The climate with year round sunshine.
> The amazing underwater reefs, marine life and shipwrecks.
> History, culture and tradition.
> The desert and mountains.
> Oasis villages with a traditional crafts.
> Not needing to own a car where I live and being able to walk or bicycle everywhere.
> The River Nile and farmland.
> Fresh fruit and vegetables covered in dirt that have flavour.
> And last but by no means least, the Egyptian people.
> 
> Thank you Egypt for the most amazing ten years of my life!!


It seems to me that you're describing an Egypt that has nothing to do with the Egypt I'm living in, if you were stuck for 3 hours on 6th of October bridge I'm pretty sure you'd have a glimpse of what the un-touristic part of Egypt looks like.


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## Biffy

it's not 'your place to be deeply offended surely.

everyone has thier own experiences / comments / realities about living in this country - and all of them are valid.

that's the whole point of the forum to have discussion and debate.

but I think you are also doing our country down really.
to say there would be civil disturbance and the country would go to pot just becuase of a power cut is cynical to the extreme.
and i am sure that your comments will offend some people.

we don't come from a perfect land - just like we don't live right now in one either.

And yes Egypt is a beautiful country - and no-one is disputing that.

But that doesn't make it perfect either!
the comment about the traffic in cairo / about thier experiences in Cairo are not negated just because you get to look at the pyramids sometimes - or get to sit on a bridge staring at the Nile for 3 hours.

People from outside come to Egypt for many different reasons - everyone's experiences are different - and the reasons people stay (even though they maybe don't like it) are certainly very different!!


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## MaidenScotland

Ehab91 said:


> It seems to me that you're describing an Egypt that has nothing to do with the Egypt I'm living in, if you were stuck for 3 hours on 6th of October bridge I'm pretty sure you'd have a glimpse of what the un-touristic part of Egypt looks like.





And the point of your questions was what??? 


The OP said what brought her and kept her in Egypt.. it might not be the Egypt you see but it is the Egypt that she sees and is happy to live in.


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## Ehab91

ih8un said:


> Are you Egyptian really? Are you?
> If traffic is one of your reasons to call Egypt uncivillized which it does partly sound so, then it's probably not worth even discussing this with you.
> 
> And if you are really an Egyptian, than have you actually ever lived elsewhere. Because I have, I've lived elsewhere and this country is very civilized.
> 
> For a nation that pretty much has had no government, the people have shown how civilized people live. Seriously where I'm from, if there was so much of a blackout you would have so much civil disturbance, major thefts, riots etc. And that's with a police presence.
> 
> No, sorry I am deeply offended by your remarks.


To answer your first question, yes, sadly I'm an Egyptian, didn't really have a choice on that one, and had to fight my way from the bottom with none of the 'luxuries' you European take for granted.

Traffic isn't Egypt's biggest problem, but I just tried to give an example people here could relate to, I could also give examples about personal freedoms, sexual harassment and rape (number 2 worldwide after Afghanistan yaaaay), high theft rate, irresponsible driving and broken roads that causes many many fatalities (which ranked us number 3 after Eritrea and Cook Islands in number of deaths on road per capita), and the list could go on and on and on.

I did, in fact, live in other countries, I spent 16 years in Saudi Arabia, awful country in so many ways, but not even close to how messed up Egypt is.

Regarding the looting during black outs issue, weren't you here during the revolution ? didn't you actually see what happened to stores all around Egypt ? it's not that we're too civilized to loot during black outs, it's just that we have so many black outs due to poor structure to the point that it be came a common thing, not a once-a-year-snow-related-issue like the blackouts of Europe.


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## Biffy

Ehab - you are quite right about alot of things really.

and yes we did witness the looting first hand (of the city centre Maadi) during the revolution - and it was a sight to behold!


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## USAnyc

*Bad? Yes but compare to others - no*

Yes you are right about all the problems that you mentioned above but compare to others places around the world " including eroupe " if there no police, bad boys would break into houses and chop heads off. They would steal more cars, the problems will be much greater than what you are witnessing right now ... The problem with Egypt right now won't last for long because the Egyptian people are truly amazing.


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## MaidenScotland

USAnyc said:


> Yes you are right about all the problems that you mentioned above but compare to others places around the world " including eroupe " if there no police, bad boys would break into houses and chop heads off. They would steal more cars, the problems will be much greater than what you are witnessing right now ... The problem with Egypt right now won't last for long because the Egyptian people are truly amazing.




mmm do you really think we hear about the car stealing, burglary etc? of course we don't just as we never have.. this country was always promoted as practically crime free but those of us who have lived here for years know it was simply not true just as now. 

Because it is not reported in the newspaper doesn't mean it is not happening.


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## aykalam

MaidenScotland said:


> mmm do you really think we hear about the car stealing, burglary etc? of course we don't just as we never have.. this country was always promoted as practically crime free but those of us who have lived here for years know it was simply not true just as now.
> 
> Because it is not reported in the newspaper doesn't mean it is not happening.


Night before last, they broke into my sister-in-law's flat here in Cairo while the family where all asleep. Her husband is away working abroad so she was on her own with the kids. Luckily none of them woke up to find a burglar walking around their home. They have spent the last two days at family's as they are terrified to sleep there.

Crime always existed in Egypt but there is no doubt in my mind that it has increased exponentially since the police decided to do even less than they did before.


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## MaidenScotland

I was reading about the rise of prostitution in Cairo .. I wondered if the author had ever been here before and if so did he walk about with his eyes closed.

another myth .. no prostitution

another myth.. no gay Egyptians.


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## MaidenScotland

As a follow up to my earlier post regarding crimes not being reported in the newspapers I just had this email from a friend..
Hello Chris,

Sorry, but I saw your call on the mobile only one day later…we had a bereavement, among my former neighbours, a young woman and her three children who died in an accident. The husband walked out of the car without a scratch I’ll be a bit off the rail for a few days. See ya next Tuesday at the latest, 

Now this would have been splashed all over our news programmes, photos etc in our newspapers.. here I have heard nothing , I may have missed a fleeting mention of it on the news but it certainly has not hit the headlines.


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## canuck2010

Even MB officials are not safe, New mob killing in Egypt's Sharqiya: Son of Brotherhood leader beaten to death - Politics - Egypt - Ahram Online


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## xpatredsea

Ehab91 said:


> To answer your first question, yes, sadly I'm an Egyptian, didn't really have a choice on that one, and had to fight my way from the bottom with none of the 'luxuries' you European take for granted.
> 
> Traffic isn't Egypt's biggest problem, but I just tried to give an example people here could relate to, I could also give examples about personal freedoms, sexual harassment and rape (number 2 worldwide after Afghanistan yaaaay), high theft rate, irresponsible driving and broken roads that causes many many fatalities (which ranked us number 3 after Eritrea and Cook Islands in number of deaths on road per capita), and the list could go on and on and on.
> 
> I did, in fact, live in other countries, I spent 16 years in Saudi Arabia, awful country in so many ways, but not even close to how messed up Egypt is.
> 
> Regarding the looting during black outs issue, weren't you here during the revolution ? didn't you actually see what happened to stores all around Egypt ? it's not that we're too civilized to loot during black outs, it's just that we have so many black outs due to poor structure to the point that it be came a common thing, not a once-a-year-snow-related-issue like the blackouts of Europe.


Ehab, you should be proud to be Egyptian, and I can completely understand your anger and frustration with what's the county going thru right now. But what I like most about Egypt, and not many expats will agree, are the Egyptian people. Many expats love the country, but hate the people, some actually wish the country can be taken over by foreigners, but will never publicly admit it. Egypt is a beautiful country, and yes, sometimes I look at all the rubbish on the streets and feel angry, but then I look up and see how the sky is most bluest shade of blue from all the sunshine. I look over at a man trying to bribe a foreigner out of their life savings, then I look the other way and see a man treating a foreigner with the most hospitality a human can give to another one. Egypt is not perfect, but it's all from the perspective you look at it from. I choose to see the glass half full..it's going thru trying and desperate times, but pulling thru with the laughter only Egyptian can give. I love how they can take the most depressing situations and turn it into an ironic joke..I tell all my friends, that when I ask an Egyptian how are you, no matter if they have no money, their health is bad, the family is struggling, somehow they still manage to say Ahumdillah..Thank God, not many people in the world, have the will power to keep going, like Egyptians do..and inshallah, things will get better, we just have to have patience.


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## CAIRODEMON

If the author is an Egyptian, then you have no right to be offended, deeply or otherwise, by his/her comments


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## MaidenScotland

ih8un said:


> LMAO. I remember in the "Meat shortage coming up" thread, a moderator posted this "I often have this argument with my Muslim friends who defend halal but then they are moderate people who understand that *everyone is entitled to an opinion*."
> 
> Yet *ALL *my posts have since been deleted. I love how the democracy card is dropped when it suits you. Why was I unable to express my "entitled opinion".
> 
> HYPOCRISY




Your posts have not been deleted, I unapproved them until I had time to deal with the last post you made, you can't see them but they are there.


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## MaidenScotland

ih8un said:


> Ok thanks for the clarification. I just have a few problems.
> 
> Why did I receive an infraction for my post? There was no reason given to me.
> 
> What was actually wrong with my post. I didn't insult anyone or make any threats. I'm really confused.
> 
> Can you clarify these 2 points for me, please.




You commented on moderating which is against the forum rules..


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