My Trip to Cairo, Egypt

I chose to visit Egypt for this project because there is so much to see and do with

all of the history that is there. It is truly amazing how much we can relate to the ways they took

care of things during those days. Their culture and ways of life was extraordinary, from the

cloths to the way they built each building. Egyptians have always been interesting to me and

this gave me an opportunity to learn more about them.

Before I can even plan my trip I have to go and see what medical precautions and

stipulations I need to be aware of. I decided to go online and I found that I actually have to have

my routine shots, hepatitis a and b shots, typhoid shots and my rabies shots [ CITATION Cen12 \l

1033 ]. I have most of these shots already, but it is recommended that I see my doctor at least

four to eight weeks before attending this trip. I have to get two shots. I do not like shots at all,

but I am really excited about this trip so I am prepared to get them. After receiving my shots my

doctor told me to keep following up before I go on my trip so that he can prescribe the correct

prescriptions for me to take with me.

In order to leave the country and enter Egypt I must purchase a visa and

passport. With this being my first time out of the country, I had to research this topic. I did not

realize that it would be so expensive. It turns out that visas cost about sixty dollars and a

passport cost about three hundred and fifty nine dollars [ CITATION USD12 \l 1033 ]. The visa is

only good for ninety day then it expires. Each time I leave the country I have to renew my visa.

The passport is the help me get back into the states.

 The next thing for me to do is decide when I want to go and who I want to go

with me. I asked my sister and our mom to go with us and they said yes. I looked up many

prices and times. The best price and time for departure was for seventeen thousand seven

hundred fifty eight dollars and fifty cents for the three of us. Luckily, this is the price for three

roundtrip tickets. Orbits showed this price and it is for first class and business class seating. The

only bad part about this trip is the long flights. It takes fourteen hours and twenty minutes to

get there without connections; with connections it will take seventeen hours and forty minutes.

This will be my first time being on a plane so hopefully it will be a memorable experience for

me. While looking up plane tickets I looked up rental cars and found a SUV for one thousand

five hundred forty nine dollars and ninety cents for the two weeks that I will be in Cairo. Believe

it or not gas is only sixty nine cents a gallon over there as told by the CNN [ CITATION CNN05 \l

1033 ].

The currency from U.S dollars to Egyptian Pounds converts into five point eight

pounds for every one U.S dollar. They do not use the same term as we do for change. We refer

to change as “cents” and they refer to it as “Piastres.” The exchange rate is determined by the

Swiss Stock Exchange [ CITATION OAN03 \l 1033 ]. I learned something new while researching this

because I didn’t really understand how the exchange rate was determined nor did I know how

much of a difference the money is once converted.

We three of us discussed whether we should stay in a hotel or if we would feel

more comfortable living in an apartment for two weeks. It was a unanimous decision to rent an

apartment. We started narrowing down what we wanted in the apartment. Our requirements
were that the apartment has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, wifi, a washer and

dryer unit, a television, and it be fully furnished. We found just what we were looking for. This

amazing apartment had all of our requirements plus so much more and an incredible view on

top of all of this. The apartment only cost a total of one hundred two dollars and eighteen cents

in American money, but it cost six hundred thirteen Egyptian pounds and seventy four piastres [

CITATION Vac12 \l 1033 ].

While there we want to try some of the foods there. There is one food that we

have all agreed not to try, that food would be pigeon. Pigeon is a traditional delicacy that is

cherished there. I mean no disrespect, but I do not think that I could eat that. There are other

fools such as Koshari,Taamiya, and Fuul that look appetizing. Koshari is a macaroni, bean, and

herb topping over rice. Taamiya is type of traditional wrap for them. Fuul is a bean paste that

has sour cream and diced tomatoes on top. To top it all off there is a delicious drink called

lemoon, which is a fruit tasting water with lemon in it [ CITATION And11 \l 1033 ].

You may be wondering what we will be doing during our time in Cairo. We plan

to unpack and relax on the first day that we arrive. For the next several days we will take tours

all about the historical capital. Between all of the touring we will have a spa day and take time

to venture around our selves for a while and go shopping. We decided to take about one

million five hundred one thousand six hundred ninety Egyptian pounds for shopping. We

wanted to take some real Egyptian cotton sheets home for our beds back home. We started

looking around and found the store that we were looking for. Right next door to it was a crafts

shop, we were in luck.

 Most of the customs and traditions are the same, but different at the same time.

We both have customs such as baptisms and marriage. For us a baptism happens in a church

when a person claims their true love for Christ. Baptism’s for them are done some much more

different. Seven days after a baby is born, family and friends come to visit the mother and the

father washes the baby. Marriage to my surprise is basically the same for both countries. One

exception is that they fast and pray for three days after they are married. I thought that was

kind of odd until I read the story behind it. A woman by the name of Tobia was married several

times, but each of her husbands were killed the first night by the devil. When others heard of

the deaths, they started to talk about her and give her a bad reputation. Through all of the

gossip, she managed to get married once again to a man by the name of, Tobit. The day they

married, her father prayed with her new husband to god to protect their marriage. One day an

angel came to him and told him to pray and fast for three days to protect them from evil. This

story started the tradition that is still used today [ CITATION Cop12 \l 1033 ].

Other customs that are similar, yet different are Easter and New Years. Easter is

completely different for us than it is them. They call Easter “smelling the breeze”, we just call it

Easter. For fifty five days before “smelling the breeze”, they pray at church every day and they

do not eat “food with a soul”. The Friday before everyone wears black and drinks vinegar like

Jesus did. Jesus asked for water and they brought him vinegar instead. The Sunday before no

one drinks or eats anything from midnight to six o’clock that night. On the day of the event,

everyone eats fish, eggs, wears new cloths and visits with everyone. New Years is almost like

Christmas for them. Before Christmas, they fast for 43 days, and once again do not eat any

“food with a soul”, but they are allowed to eat fish. Everyone goes to church on New Year’s Eve
and prays from eight at night until midnight. At midnight, all of the indoor lights are turned off

and candles are lit. Sweets and toys are handed out to everyone [ CITATION Cop12 \l 1033 ].

When it comes to gestures, there are several things to avoid doing. One thing

that you should avoid doing is showing someone thumbs up because they tend to take that as

we would if someone showed us their middle finger. Never keep your shoes on when entering

someone’s house or a Mosque. If you eat, gesture, or shake hands with the left hand it is

considered to be unclean. Do not bring flowers to someone as a gift when visiting their house.

Flowers are only for weddings and ill people. Bring sweets and small gifts for children. Women

are not to show their knees or shoulders, because that shows disrespect towards their culture.

Avoid drinking water unless it is boiled or in a sealed bottle. Avoid eating uncooked vegetables

as well [ CITATION Cen12 \l 1033 ].

When it comes to knowing the type of government that is in charge it can be

tricky. The Muslim Botherhood won the last election but the government is refusing to

relinquish power, so they are still in charge. This is a third world country, which means they are

less developed and have lower middle income. Something else I did not know is this is a

dictatorship country [ CITATION Kev12 \l 1033 ].

Other facts to know are about the language, religion, and safety tips. The official

language is Arabic, but English and French are widely spoken. The religion is predominantly

Islam, they worship Muhammad. The police are trustworthy, there is a low crime rate, but be

aware of the terrorist attacks. To avoid terrorist attacks it is best to stay away from tourist areas

with packed people. After a long two weeks it was time to pack everything up and return the
rental car to the airport and wait for our flight to leave. Time for a sixteen hour and three

minute flight.
Works Cited
Cairo, Coptic. Web. Customs and Traditions. n.d. 20 April 2012.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. Health Information for travelers to Egypt. 20 January
2012.

CNN. Web. Gas prices around the world. March 2005. 4 April 2012.

Humphreys, Andrew. Book. Top 10 Cairo & The Nile. Great Britain: Dorling Kindersley, 2011.

OANDA. Web. Egypt Currency Converter. 2003. 29 March 2012.

Perk, Kevin. Class. "Third World Countries." Covington, 2012.

U.S. Department of State. Web. Egypt Country Specific Information. n.d. 2 April 2012.

Vacation Home Rentals. Web. Vacation Home Rentals. n.d. 19 March 2012.