Welcome to Egypt!
Land of the Pharaohs, Mother of the World, whatever you call it, Egypt holds a very special place in my heart. Being half Egyptian, I am glad I was able to visit this country with my father for the first time last winter. Not only did I get to see a lot of cool sights and meet a lot a lot of cool and interesting people, I also got to see how the people lived and what they did during their daily lives. I got to meet a lot of my family that I never met before and my gosh was it a huge family. Most of my family lives in a town called Tanta, which lies about an hour and a half north of Cairo.
THE LAND OF PHAROAHS, PYRAMIDS AND MANY WONDERSLanguage: Egyptian Arabic. They have their own dialect and slang, just like Colombian Spanish vs Puerto Rican Spanish. You get the idea.
Currency: Egyptian Pounds Population: 82+ million people Religion: Islam dominates with 90%, Coptic Christian at about 9%, and other Christian denominations at 1%. -Egypt in Arabic is called "Masr". -There is believed to be over 4.5 million cars alone in Cairo. -Cairo is the most populated city in the Arab world with over 10 million people. -2nd most populated city in Africa, behind Lagos. -Home to the only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World, The Egyptian Pyramids. -More than 90% of Egypt is desert wasteland. -EGYPTIAN FOOD ROCKS -The Egyptian Museum which has more than 120,000 items, the Egyptian National Military Museum and the 6th of October Panorama. |
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More about Egypt
Where my dad is from, Tanta, you’re not going to see very much, if any, tourists. Tanta is a city for work and it’s just typically where native Egyptians live. This is where we spent the majority of my 3 weeks while in Egypt. Pretty much everyday we spent time with family and ate…a lot. I gained a lot of weight during this trip, but I did it eating some good ass food. I gained a good amount of weight on this trip, mostly due to the fact that I can’t stop eating whenever I am faced with good food.
Also, Egyptian people are some of the nicest people ever. They will keep offering you food endlessly, even if you say no. I remember even strangers, meeting each other for the first time, would talk to each other like they were longtime friends. I know this especially because whenever my dad would meet someone on the streets when we were out, they would start laughing and have a good time. It's honestly Arabic people in general, who are all very warmhearted and welcoming. Like in many other countries, there will be beggars on the road. I’ve quite a few people following me for some cash, but all I did was just keep walking. I’ve had one little girl follow me for a few minutes, she even pulled my shirt trying to get my attention. Tea after every meal is the thing here, and drinking tea is also common while smoking hookah (once again, probably Arabic in general but Egypt is the only Middle Eastern country I've been to so far).
I feel like I’ve missed out on some stuff while I was here like going to the Cairo Museum and such, however I’m going back December 2015 so no need to worry! I’ll actually have a list of what to see, what to do, and in addition I’ll be equipped with better technology like my go pro hero 4 and a selfie stick!
Click on a link below to read about the cuisine in Egypt or if you want to see more pictures!
Also, Egyptian people are some of the nicest people ever. They will keep offering you food endlessly, even if you say no. I remember even strangers, meeting each other for the first time, would talk to each other like they were longtime friends. I know this especially because whenever my dad would meet someone on the streets when we were out, they would start laughing and have a good time. It's honestly Arabic people in general, who are all very warmhearted and welcoming. Like in many other countries, there will be beggars on the road. I’ve quite a few people following me for some cash, but all I did was just keep walking. I’ve had one little girl follow me for a few minutes, she even pulled my shirt trying to get my attention. Tea after every meal is the thing here, and drinking tea is also common while smoking hookah (once again, probably Arabic in general but Egypt is the only Middle Eastern country I've been to so far).
I feel like I’ve missed out on some stuff while I was here like going to the Cairo Museum and such, however I’m going back December 2015 so no need to worry! I’ll actually have a list of what to see, what to do, and in addition I’ll be equipped with better technology like my go pro hero 4 and a selfie stick!
Click on a link below to read about the cuisine in Egypt or if you want to see more pictures!