Interview With An Egyptian Friend Essay Examples

Egypt is often in the news, and because it is a primarily Muslim nation, a lot of people make assumptions about what Egyptian culture is like. In order to get a better idea about Egyptian cultural values, I interviewed an international student from Egypt. Her name is Tamar and she was born in Cairo, Egypt.
Family has a very important place in Egyptian life. Tamar is from what is considered to be an upper-middle class family; she attended a private school, did not have to work, and her family is proud that she earned scholarships to be able to continue her education elsewhere. The nuclear family is the primary family unit for many people of her economic class, although a lot of time is spent with extended family. She said that Islam allows more than one wife for men, but no one she knows does this, and certainly not her own father. She has never had to deal with favoritism of any of her siblings because her only other sibling is much younger than her and also female. Her mother does not work and is a homemaker, a more traditional role of the past, but they are proud that Tamar would like to have a career. Although many people know women are expected to dress modestly, the same is true for men as well. For example, shorts are not appropriate to wear in Egypt for grown men, although boys may wear them. There is also the traditional galabeya, which is a robe. Most people do not wear a hat or scarf-like head covering, although some of the more religious people do so.
Tamar’s favorite food from home is kusharie, which is a pasta dish that also has lentils, tomato sauce, rice, onions, and garbanzo beans. The staple food of the nation is pita bread. Tamar related a story her mother told of conscript police riots in the mid-1980s when the government enforced a curfew, but they had to let people out to bake and buy bread for a couple hours each day or the people would have rioted as well.
The cultural traditions and holidays Tamar’s family and the other Egyptian families she knows are primarily Islamic, although some are more basic than that. For example, if you were to greet a friend in Egypt, you would kiss each of their cheeks if they are the same gender, or shake hands if they are not. If traveling to Egypt, frequent tipping of people is expected, and this is called “baksheesh.” If you do not offer a tip, you will be asked for one. Throughout Egypt, there are the minarets of mosques, and there is a call to prayer from them five times each day. The holy day of the week is Friday. A famous Muslim holiday is Ramadan, when people fast from dawn till dusk, although foreigners are not expected to participate.
Tamar found the question about forgiveness to be confusing. This is not because Egyptians or Islamic people have no concept of forgiveness, but because she said the concept of honor is more important. Forgiveness is something to ask for from God (Allah), but if people behave honorably they should have nothing to worry about from each other.