Egypt Culture Smart

"Contents include: local customs and traditions; the impact of history, religion, and politics; the Egyptians at home, work, and play; eating and drinking; dos, don'ts, and taboos; business practices; and communication, spoken and unspoken" --back cover.

This revised and updated edition of Culture Smart! Egypt reveals a country in the throes of change. The largely secular revolution that started in Cairo's Tahrir Square in January 2011 became the flagship of the Arab Spring revolts. The uprising resulted in a political effervescence, with new parties, movements, and groups all jostling for space in the new political landscape. But the situation remains fluid. Free elections produced a parliament dominated by Islamists and the country's political and social identity has yet to be defined. Egypt's heady spirit of change is both rooted in and challenged by traditional and deeply conservative values. The timeless Egypt that has inspired conquerors, academics, and artists for millennia is home to 82 million people who call it Omm Eddunia, Mother of the World. It is the people who are Egypt's true wealth. They are friendly, cheerful, proud, and renowned for their sense of humor. In bringing the narrative up to date, this new edition of Culture Smart! Egypt explores the codes and paradoxes of Egyptian life. It outlines the country's history and shows the forces that have shaped its sensibility. It explains values and attitudes, and guides you through local customs and traditions. It opens a window into the private lives of Egyptians, how they behave at home, and how they interact with foreign visitors. It offers practical advice, from how to make friends to avoiding faux pas. It sets out to make your encounter as rich as possible by taking you beyond the clichés to the real people.

Whether your customers are traveling in luxury or with just a pack on their back, it's important that they have a safe, fun, and easy-going trip. Bad etiquette and a misunderstanding about customs can put an otherwise very exciting trip on hold faster than a bad case of food poisoning. Readers are going to want to know about the CULTURE SMART! customs and etiquette series and will find them as indispensable as their passports. The CULTURE SMART! titles are not your basic travel guides: they are consistently updated customs and etiquette references for more than 25 countries, with six new titles available this fall. Now more than ever, travelers are more than just sightseers and tourists; they're ambassadors making impressions of the United States wherever they go. Readers will find these to be invaluable for pointing them on their way to a safe and fun trip abroad.

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * do's, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken "Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel "... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel "...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer "...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine "...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

From Herodotus's day to the present political upheavals, the steady flow of the Nile has been Egypt's heartbeat. It has shaped its geography, controlled its economy and moulded its civilisation. The same stretch of water which conveyed Pharaonic battleships, Ptolemaic grain ships, Roman troop-carriers and Victorian steamers today carries modern-day tourists past bankside settlements in which rural life – fishing, farming, flooding – continues much as it has for millennia. At this most critical juncture in the country's history, foremost Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson takes us on a journey up the Nile, north from Lake Victoria, from Cataract to Cataract, past the Aswan Dam, to the delta. The country is a palimpsest, every age has left its trace: as we pass the Nilometer on the island of Elephantine which since the days of the Pharaohs has measured the height of Nile floodwaters to predict the following season's agricultural yield and set the parameters for the entire Egyptian economy, the wonders of Giza which bear the scars of assault by nineteenth-century archaeologists and the modern-day unbridled urban expansion of Cairo – and in Egypt's earliest art (prehistoric images of fish-traps carved into cliffs) and the Arab Spring (fought on the bridges of Cairo) – the Nile is our guide to understanding the past and present of this unique, chaotic, vital, conservative yet rapidly changing land.

The guide described by The New York Times as "indispensable," revised and updated for 2008, fills a vital niche for expatriates and Cairenes alike who need a helping hand to organize--and enjoy--the challenges of a sojourn in Cairo. The basics of daily life--finding a flat, transporting personal goods, investigating school options for children, navigating Egypt's famous bureaucracy, and the intricacies of feeding and clothing oneself and one's family from the local market--are all detailed here. Advice gathered from a wide range of Cairo insiders, both native and foreign, gives the reader a cornucopia of current facts on prices, neighborhoods, product availability, work and business opportunities, and the dizzying range of cultural and leisure pursuits that Cairo is famous for. The format of this edition addresses the needs of independently minded tourists as well as residents by the inclusion of: an A-to-Z directory of goods, services, and interests subdivided by neighborhood; a language section on the basics of Cairene Arabic; and details on shopping and sightseeing from a resident's perspective. Cairo: The Practical Guide, now in its sixteenth edition, is the key to deciphering the complexities of living, working, and enjoying life in one of the world's most exciting and dauntingly complex mega-cities.