Egyptian culture is the most popular in the Arab world for a good purpose. Egyptians are known to be funny, flamboyant, and have an optimistic sense of humor. Depending on whether you are a tourist, traveler, or expat you will recognize instantly unique personality traits that are very common among all Egyptians.
At a glance when you will notice the smiles and warm welcome when visiting or are new to living in Egypt. Shortly after, you will start seeing some traits that Egyptians always possess beyond warm hospitality.
Without further ado, let’s start discussing the uniqueness of Egyptian people.
Hospitality
All cultures have their rules and traditions about hospitability. However, hospitality in Egypt is not just another tradition but rather an element of their genetics. Egyptians are not only hospitable to foreigners but to anyone who is visiting any place. If you are visiting a family member, they are obliged to treat you with extra care and affection. Whether you are starting a new job, you will be welcomed and attended to. As a foreigner, however, Egyptians go out and beyond to make sure your stay in Egyptian is the most hospitable and pleasant. If you are staying with a local family you will be overwhelmed with care and well-treated.
Optimism
There is no doubt that Egyptians are going through one of the toughest economic crises in a long time. No matter the trouble, the people in Egypt have been trained to seek optimism in any situation. Depression is not a vocabulary that you hear in their dialogue instead they say “alhamdulillah” which can be translated as “thanks to God” or “praise to God”. This is used in many different ways in Egyptian conversation.
Greeting
In the United States, we have one way to wish a “good morning” to each other. Not in Egypt. Here you will hear people wish each other a “morning full of flowers”, “morning with blessing” and so forth. When you are leaving someone, you will also hear a diversity of good wishes as well as when you are arriving at a place you can mention wishes for health. I even think you can make up your own wishes as it will be receptive.
Dress Code
Many Egyptians love to dress well. Women usually coordinate their headscarves with the rest of their outfits, embroidering themselves with accessories. When it comes to dressing codes, you will have a mixture of traditional attire and western fashion but when it comes to their appearance, Egyptians appreciate anyone who dresses well.
Family
The family structure is highly valued and respected. Egyptians at a young age seem to know that every member of the family has a role in fulfilling. The family is always supporting one another and alleviating any hardships among each other. The eldest member of the family is often treated with special treatment, like being offered a plate of food first or exempt from cleaning after themselves. There are gender and age-appropriate roles that everyone is expected to know from an early age.
Never Forget
If you have an Egyptian friend then consider having a friend for the rest of your life. Egyptians are pretty attached to their friends and most friends know each other from childhood. Although family responsibilities keep you occupied once you get older and start a family of your own. You often talk to the same childhood friend over the phone or meet once in a while to catch up. Egyptians never forget a good deed that has been done to them and they often try to reciprocate the good deed with an even better one. Unfortunately the same goes for the other way, if you have wronged an Egyptian, rest assured that it will never be forgotten by them.
Sweet Words
Egyptians among the Arabic pop cultures are known to be the most popular, vibrant, and light spirit. People often joke around during the toughest situation, making exaggerated facial and hang expressions. But nothing beats the way they express themselves. They love nicknames, for example calling children, “honey, sugar, chick, and even, yes, dog”, but it’s the way you say it that makes an impact. The word “dog” and the way you accentuate it can have a bad or good cognition. However, Egypt people also have the most creative and unique vocabulary to insult or express their negative feelings.
So here you have it, these are some unique personality traits common among the Egyptians. It doesn’t matter if you are here as a tourist, a short-stayed traveler, or a long-term expat you will notice these common traits being exhibited every day in Egypt.
Tell me, which of these traits would you take back home with you and start practicing it? I’ve definitely been influenced by the culture and have adopted some of these traits into my life.
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Andrea Blossom 
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