Expat Community > Egypt

hipocampo34
Joined 2009
Posts: 1

Affection, expression and dating

15 years ago

As a future expat who will be moving to Cairo this summer, I have read as much as I can about customs. Unfortunately, information is often conflicting. I have a couple of questions out of pure ignorance and curiosity.

I have read that holding hands with a woman in public is considered a public display of affection and deemed rude to Egyptians even if it is your wife you are holding hads with. Is this true or just an exaggeration?

Second, I have also read that "dating" simply does not happen. You cannot just meet a local woman and go out with her as friends or "romance her" in the classical sense. Plus they simply do not go out to clubs or cafes, so you do not really have the chance to meet local women in informal settings.

Third, I have also read that you should not make eye contact with local women because it is interpreted as "coming on" to her (wanting something). As a westerner, we often distrust a person who will not look you in the eye while you speak to him/her.

In the interest of respecting local customs and not make stupid mistakes from things that are accepted elsewhere: Can someone please explain if all this is true or just some bad experience some blogger had 10 years ago?

William Russell

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William Russell

Get a quote for international health insurance from our partner, William Russell.
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