10 Interesting and Curious Facts About Egyptian Society That Will Surprise You

### **10 Interesting and Curious Facts About Egyptian Society That Will Surprise You**

Egypt, pharaohs' and pyramids' land, is too often reduced to its ancient grandeur in the popular vision. Yet under the stones and golden masks, there lies a living, breathing, and richly complex society. Contemporary Egyptians live in an era where thousands of years of history are juxtaposed against the challenges of the 21st century, with a resulting range of social conventions, customs, and daily habits that may appear endearing, confounding, or flat-out inexplicable to someone from outside. To really know Egypt, look beyond the tourist veneer and into the soul of its crazy, hospitable, and profoundly rich culture. These are ten facts that reveal the strange and captivating essence of Egyptian daily life.

**1. The National Obsession with "Koshary": A Classless Culinary Religion**

In a country renowned for culinary variety, from pigeons stuffed to molokhiya, it is the simple *Koshary* that is the clear national dish. It is not a dinner or celebratory food; it is the food of the people, eaten by billionaires and sweeps alike from the same ubiquitous kiosks. The strangeness lies in its composition and cultural status.

Koshary is a sloppy carb-feast of rice, brown lentils, chickpeas, and macaroni covered with hot tomato sauce, garlic-vinegar dressing, and crunchy fried onions. Putting Italian pasta together with lentils and rice seems strange to foreigners. But to the Egyptians, it is a wonderful, inexpensive, and delicious nutritional gem. And most importantly, it is a wonderful social equalizer. The shared enjoyment of waiting in a queue for a steaming bowl of Koshary, supplementing it with condiments to individual liking, and gobbling it down quickly at a shared table is a daily practice cutting across all socio-economic classes. It is Egyptian down-to-earth pragmatism, resourcefulness, and shared simplicity of identity.

**2. The "Felucca" on the Nile: Timelessness in a Modern World**

Budded in the heart of Cairo, a sprawling, noisy city of over 20 million, one of the most desirable of social activities is an escape from sheer silence. The *felucca*, a single lateen-sailed wooden sailing boat, is unarmed and quiet. Every evening, after sundown, hundreds of Egyptian and foreign visitors crowd the Nile corniche to ride the ancient boats.

To Egyptians, the felucca ride is not a tourist trap; it is a vital social outlet. Families, friends, and couples bring food, music, and shisha (water pipe) on board to sail for hours. The oddity is the juxtaposition: the city's ubiquitous cacophony and traffic are mere meters away, yet on the boat, the only things to be heard are water and wind. It is a valuable, timeless bubble of tranquility, a sign of an Egypt that dances to the rhythm of the river, not the iPhone. This ability to create tranquility from turmoil is a traditionally Egyptian one.

**3. The Multifaceted Language of "Insha'allah"**

The Arabic phrase "*Insha'allah*" (God willing) is used across the Muslim world, but in Egypt it has become an art form, with multiple levels of social and pragmatic usage that can confuse non-natives. On the surface, it is a modest phrase of submission to God's will. But in general usage, it has a number of functions.

When an Egyptian says "I will see you tomorrow, *Insha'allah*," it can mean:

1. A sincere intention and a hope that it does.

2. A pleasant and non-confrontational way to say "probably not" or "I don't want to commit."

3. A way to sidestep giving an overt "no," which is typically considered rude.

For a non-Egyptian attempting to pin down arrangements, it can be maddening. For Egyptians, though, it is a necessary social lubricant. It tempers promises, keeps expectations in check, and acknowledges human intentions as finally precarious. It is rooted in a worldview in which destiny (*kadar*) is accommodated, and frankness is often yielded to conciliation.

**4. The "Mouled": A Carnival of Saints in a Muslim Nation**

Egypt is predominantly Muslim, but one of its most vibrant and inclusive public celebrations is the *Mouled* (or Mawlid)—the birthday of an Islamic saint. Such celebrations, particularly Cairo's Mouled of Imam al-Hussein, animate entire neighborhoods for days on end.

The strangeness for visitors is the carnival-like atmosphere, which can be dissonant with common Western conceptions of Islamic piety. The streets are crowded with millions of individuals. There are Sufi chanting groups (*zikr*), puppet troupes, sweet doll-shaped sweet vendors, and an aura of overwhelming ecstasy and disorder. It is a powerful example of the deeply embedded Sufi and popular Islamic rituals of Egypt, where saints are venerated and common, ecstatic form of worship commingle with official mosque prayers. The Mouled is a social and religious spectacle, a safety valve that is riotously festive and profoundly religious.

**5. The Unwritten Rules of Car Horns**

Traffic in Cairo is notorious, and to the visitor, it appears to be an endless, maddening sound of car horns. But this is not anarchy. Egyptians have a sophisticated, unwritten code of beeps and honks that form an essential communications system.

A swift, light tap can be "Thank you" or "I'm coming." Two short taps can be "Be careful, I'm passing you" or "The traffic light is green, let's go!" A firm, prolonged blow expresses anger and frustration. A series of frequent, celebratory toots is typical at weddings, where the cars of the wedding procession drive around in the streets announcing the celebration. To learn to "speak" and "hear" horn is to survive driving on Egyptian roads. What seems to be chaotic noise is truly a highly developed aural code that keeps the chaotic traffic moving.

**6. The Timeless Power of "Baraka" and the Evil Eye**

Even in a country boasting a proud tradition of science and sophisticated medical centers, traces of age-old remnants of faith in supernatural powers are still enormously potent. The *Baraka* is a divine blessing or favor that is related to good fortune and protection. Its opposite is the *Ayn al-hasoud*, or Evil Eye—misfortune caused by jealous stares.

This belief dominates a great deal of social behavior. Egyptians will say "*Masha'allah*" (God has willed it) to bless the child, the new house, or the new automobile, when praising, so that the Evil Eye which praise may invoke will be turned back. A spilling of coffee is regarded as a sign of *Baraka*, good luck. Blue amulets (the *khamsa* or Blue Eye) will be worn by many as protection, especially in rural areas. This is not seen as contrary to their Muslim or Christian faith; it is a layer of folk belief addressing the unpredictability of life.

**7. The "Shama": A Culture of Endurance and Complaint**

Egyptians are ambivalent towards adversity, encapsulated in the word *shama*. Literally, it is "candlewick," but culturally it connotes sticking it out, toughness, and the ability to withstand enormous pressure without breaking. Egyptians pride themselves on their *shama*, forged over millennia of history, invasions, and everyday frustration with bureaucracy and economic pressures.

The strange irony is that this toughness is usually worked out through relentless and melodramatic complaining. Egyptians will complain loudly and vocally about everything and anything: the heat, traffic, the government, prices. But that complaining is not an expression of defeat; it is a social ritual, a form of identification with collective adversity and tension release. Following a good, long grumble session, an Egyptian will generally shrug and say "*Maalesh*" (Never mind / It's okay), a term that precisely conveys the acceptance of what cannot be done and moving on.

**8. The "Mugarfin": The Social Pressure to Keep Up Appearances**

The word "*mugarfin*" defines a specific kind of social pressure—the pressure to maintain an illusion of success and respectability middle-class, no matter the actual monetary cost. This is more than vanity. When social position and surname count, appearing successful is significant in order to gain desirable marriage prospects and social options.

This leads to seemingly irrational behavior: a family will spend their entire savings on a large wedding to impress their society, or someone will buy a new telephone on credit while struggling to pay rent. The peculiarity is the immense value placed on outsiders' perception. It is an overwhelming social pressure that drives consumerism and dictates life choices, reflecting that in Egypt, your public image can be as important as your private existence.

**9. The Ahwa: The Café as a Male Social Sanctuary**

The Egyptian *ahwa*, or coffee house (and thus named), is an elementary, masculine institution. It is far more than a place where one can drink a cup of tea or coffee; it is a social club, a place of employment, a political arena, and a refuge. Men will spend hours, or days, in their local ahwa, playing backgammon (*tawla*), smoking shisha, and talking.

The unacquaintance with outsiders is the considerable amount of time invested there and the fact that it is basically a men's world. Though even this is gradually changing in more liberal districts, the traditional ahwa remains a stronghold of male solidarity and refuge from family obligation. It is an extension of the informal network where jobs are found, deals are made, and the social pulse of the neighborhood is experienced. The shared shisha pipe and the bottomless tea cups are tools of a leisurely, measured craft of socialization that prizes relationship-building above efficiency.

**10. The Existence alongside "Bukra" and Ancient Punctuality**

"*Bukra fil mish mish*" is an Egyptian proverb that literally means "Tomorrow when the apricots blossom"—i.e., "never." It is emblematic of a cultural cliche and sometimes genuine outlook towards time as casual, even fatalistic. Egyptians will be infuriatingly informal when it comes to deadlines and future plans, assuming that things will happen in their own good time, *Insha'allah*.

The great irony, and the final strange fact, is that it lies alongside the best and most incredible punctuality of man: the ancient pyramids. The Great Pyramid at Giza is aligned true north with a margin of error of one-fifteenth of a degree. It has nearly ideally symmetrical sides. This was accomplished 4,500 years ago. This opposition encapsulates the Egyptian paradox: a nation capable of achieving the impossible through measurement and planning, yet one that also permits the liberation of "bukra." It suggests an abiding, centuries-long intuition that some things require god-like precision, but in the affairs of everyday life, sometimes it is best to follow where the great Nile will lead you.

Finally, Egyptian culture is a vibrant mosaic constructed with the interstices of ancient tradition, enduring faith, social generosity, and survival pragmatism. These ten facts—from democratic anarchy in Koshary to the hidden tongue of car horns and the paradox of time—are not anomalies. They are master keys to understanding a culture that has learned how to celebrate, belong, and mean amidst beautiful confusion. To learn about them is to move beyond the monuments and begin to hear the heartbeat of the Egyptian people.