Egyptian Culture & Traditions

What exactly is culture? Does culture define who we are and how we live our life? People living in different countries all have their own cultures to follow. I learnt that first hand when I visited Egypt, a country with very different cultures from us sometime back in May this year and it turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences in my life.

Before my trip, I had to head down to the travel agency for a briefing on what to expect on the trip, how to prevent myself from getting culture shock once getting there and more. One of the first things that the tour guide told us was of course, the extreme weather there, with temperatures ranging from 18 to 40 degrees. Later, she went on to tell us about how we should dress appropriately there by keeping our shoulders, upper arms and calves covered up at all times. It isn't exactly a sin to wear sleeveless attire or shorts in Egypt but the locals were extremely conservative due to their Muslim beliefs. Thus, it wouldn't be nice to dress in too revealing clothes unless we wouldn't mind getting gawked at while walking around there.

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali

However, it was a MUST to cover ourselves up when entering a mosque. If you happen to be wearing something that is slightly revealing such as a cap sleeve tee shirt, you have to borrow one of their cloaks to "protect your modesty" before entering. It is very important in Islam that the woman is less seductive to a stranger and shows modesty.

An Egyptian woman all covered up.

Another culture which I noticed that the Egyptians had was their love for singing and dancing at parties. During my first 4 days in Egypt, we actually had a leisurely cruise down the Nile and before dinner time, the waiters and workers in the cruise ship would put on a little performance for us using drums and other egyptian instruments. It was quite entertaining actually. Later on, they even made all of us join in as well! Even the waiters at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cairo performed their traditional dance for us before our meal.

Tipping is also a way of life over there in Egypt. It is extremely common to see the locals offering to snap photos with the tourists then asking them unabashedly for tips. My friend and I got the scare of our lives when our horse carriage driver suddenly stopped in the middle of the road while taking us to the temple to ask us for extra tips.

Kalesh - a traditional Egyptian horse carriage

The Sun Temple of Abu Simbel

Apart from the modern Egyptian cultures mentioned above, there are also many interesting ancient Egyptian cultures. One very prominent culture of ancient Egypt is mummification - the preservation of the body after death. Preservation of the body was an essential part of the Ancient Egyptian funerary practice. Without the body, the "ka" could not return to find sustenance, and if the body was decayed or unrecognisable, then the ka would go hungry and the afterlife of the deceased would be jeopardised. Mummification was therefore dedicated to the prevention of decay.

My trip to Egypt was incredible and definitely an eye-opening experience for me. It helped me to see exactly how different the cultures are over there and here in Singapore. Typing this entry right now is already making me miss Egypt so much! Say, how many of you experienced culture shock when visiting a foreign country? Please feel free to comment!

Source: http://www.egyptologyonline.com/mummification.htm