They are generally accompanied with a wide smile and direct eye contact. First names tend not to be used unless one has been invited to do so. The common form of address is the use of titles e. Mr, Mrs, Dr, etc. Close friends may address each other in informal settings by first name but may add a title to the first name in formal settings.
Often, how people greet one another is based on the class, religion and gender of the person. If unsure about the most appropriate greeting, it is best to follow the lead of the Egyptian you are meeting.
Greetings based on gender Men greeting men: When meeting for the first time, a light handshake with the right hand is common. Friends and relatives tend to kiss on both cheeks. This may be accompanied with a hug and a back slap while shaking hands with the right hand.
Women greeting women: When meeting for the first time, a simple nod of acknowledgement or a light handshake with the right hand is common. Friends and relatives tend to kiss on both cheeks while shaking hands.
Try to strike a balance between defending your own wallet and acquiescing gracefully when appropriate. A more expensive and common type of baksheesh is for rewarding the bending of rules — many of which seem to have been designed for just that purpose.
This should not be confused with bribery, which is a more serious business with its own etiquette and risks — best not entered into. The last kind of baksheesh is simply alms-giving. For Egyptians, giving money and goods to the needy is a natural act — and a requirement of Islam. The disabled are traditional recipients of such gifts, and it seems right to join locals in giving out small change. Children, however, are a different case, pressing their demands only on tourists.
If someone offers genuine help and asks for an alum pen , it seems fair enough, but to yield to every request encourages a cycle of dependency that Egypt could do without. The full-time khirtiyya who focus on tourists are versatile, touting for hotels , pushing excursions often vastly marked up , steering tourists into shops or travel agencies where their commission will be quietly added to your bill , and even being gigolos.
Remember me? Try to keep your cool and respond politely; intoning la shukran no thanks with your hand on your heart, while briskly moving on, will dissuade most street peddlers. Sexual harassment is rife in Egypt: 98 percent of foreign women visitors and 83 percent of Egyptian women have experienced it, according to one survey. While well-educated Egyptians familiar with Western culture can take these in their stride, less sophisticated ones are liable to assume the worst.
Without compromising your freedom too greatly, there are a few steps you can take to improve your image. Not sure what to do if your hand is dirty or wet? There are country-specific procedures in place for that, too. In Zimbabwe, the clapping of hands comes after folks shake in a call and answer style—the first person claps once, and the second person twice, in response.
Just be careful how you slap those palms together. Men clap with fingers and palms aligned, and women with their hands at an angle. In India, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, press your palms together in an upward-pointing prayer position at heart level or higher, then bend your head slightly forward to take a bow. Men bow with their hands at their sides, and women with their hands on their thighs. Among the younger generations, a head bow like a nod, but more pronounced is becoming the new norm.
But on the South Pacific island of Tuvalu, pressing cheeks together and taking a deep breath is still part of a traditional Polynesian welcome for visitors. Throughout Asia and Africa, honoring your elders is a given. This means greeting seniors and older folks before younger people and always using culture-specific titles and terms of respect upon first meeting.
In the Philippines, locals have a particularly unique way of showing their reverence. In Liberia, as well as among members of the Yoruba people in Nigeria, young people drop to one or both knees to honor their elders.
This article originally appeared online in January ; it was updated on April 8, , to include current information. Reopens to International Travel.
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