How do the Balkans see Egypt?
Posted by Plus_Paramedic974@reddit | AskBalkans | View on Reddit | 133 comments
So, I have been here for a while, and although I have no direct relationship to the Balkans (except being once a part of Alexander the Great's, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires), I am really curious: How do you guys view Egypt and the Egyptians?
sotiris88_p@reddit
I personally like Egypt alot Haven't had the chance to visit yet but I'm excited to do so.
victoriageras@reddit
Egypt is undeniably rich in history, but it’s not a place I would personally choose to visit. Although, i would like to visit the Egyptian History Musem, once it's finished.
A couple we are friends with recently traveled there. While they had only praise for the warmth and friendliness of the Egyptian people, they found the city overcrowded and dirty. The woman mentioned feeling uncomfortable due to the persistent stares from men and their attempts to approach her; some even tried to touch her hair. She has naturally light blonde hair, which might be uncommon in Egypt—I’m not sure.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Unfortunately, that's right. If you are a blondie walking down the street here, you may face situations like those. That's why I keep advising people online to find a group of local friends you trust to accompany you during your travel to Egypt.
Bubbly_Background_21@reddit
history and pyramids
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Yup, 7000 years of history and over 100+ pyramids!
Bubbly_Background_21@reddit
and also you guys losing the 6-day war
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
We won on 6th October later on.
31_hierophanto@reddit
Wait, isn't that war more of a stalemate?
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
It wasn't, on the Egyptian front, our forces managed to destroy the very tough Bar Lev Line defenses, cross the Suez canal and advance 20 km into the occupied Sinai lands. Israel became in a very hard situation which caused the USA to send them military aid and our soldiers found themselves fighting the Americans face to face in Sinai. Our president at that time didn't want to get in trouble with the USA and thus he gave orders that intentionally weakened the Egyptian forces situation, ignoring all warnings from his generals and even threatening to send some of them to the military court. These orders caused gaps that helped the Israeli forces to advance, breakthrough the canal and threaten Cairo itself. Later on, the two presidents of Egypt and Israel made a peace treaty sponsored by the USA and the rest of Sinai was restored through negotiations.
31_hierophanto@reddit
I know that Albania has a special relationship with them, as Muhammad Ali I of Egypt was an ethnic Albanian.
enilix@reddit
I appreciate the history and the culture, but as a woman, I wouldn't dare to visit the country.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
If you don't have a group of local friends to accompany you when going out, you may face some troubles yeah.
Thalassophoneus@reddit
I think that in general Greeks frown upon you because you are Muslims. There was a case with some Egyptian fishermen being murdered here by far-right fascists.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Oh my Lord, that's horrible!
Thalassophoneus@reddit
You may have a granny or two looking at you weirdly when you are on the bus. Or some people may write things on the internet like "wHy Do tHeY HavE A SMartpHoNE iF tHey arE rEfUgEES?". But nothing more. Don't bother a lot.
A friend of mine who has an Egyptian fiancee told me that Egyptians really like Greeks. Is that true?
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Maybe they are the Egyptians who live in the North where Cairo the capital, Alexandria, and other Mediterranean coastal cities. I live in Middle Egypt where there's no access to the Mediterranean and the capital is too far away from here so, it's so rare to meet any foreigners in my region since we don't have that many fancy monuments or temples (a so boring place to live at lol), and thus we have no idea about a lot of other countries including Younan (Greece as we call it here).
The only thing I remember about Greece is some Egyptian movie I watched when I was kid about a guy from Port Said, a coastal city near the Suez canal, who fails to become a good trader and the father of his beloved girl rejects him so he travels to Greece looking for wealth lol.
klei10@reddit
Modern Egypt was founded by a balkan fellow named muhamed ali from korca albania
xoxowony@reddit
A once great Christian country that now unfortunately is almost solely populated by arab colonizers
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
According to the same logic, Kemet was once a great ancient Egyptian-gods-worshiping country that unfortunately was populated by Roman and Greek colonizers. this statement works too.
Egyptian Muslims & Christians share almost identical genetics, They are the same people with different religions. And almost 20 million Christians still live here enjoying all their religious rights. I am Muslim and I do have Christian friends and we are good to each other, no probs at all.
Please, don't let religious radicalism blindfold you.
xoxowony@reddit
Copts were one of the earliest Christians in the world, which had direct ancestral connections to the actual ancient Egyptians long before the Romans or Greeks became Christian. Is this why are the Copts threatened and killed by the same "peaceful and similar" Arabs? Europeans have more similar DNA to the ancient civilizations there than the Arabs living in Egypt. I've talked to quite a few of them and they all plan to move out due to the lack of safety in Egypt.
Neat_Garlic_5699@reddit
May I request the source?
xoxowony@reddit
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-egyptians-europeans-related-claims-a7763866.html
Neat_Garlic_5699@reddit
That title seems to be misleading. If you read it, and even better if you look at the original paper that piece references, it says that Ancient Egyptians are closer to Bedouin & Levantine people (and Anatolians and Europeans, but they are not the focus) than Modern Egyptians are.
It does not say:
1- Ancient Egyptians are closer to Europeans than to Modern Egyptians. The Modern Egyptians are still the population with the most connection to Ancient Egyptians, but significant admixture from other sources, particulary Sub-Saharan Africa.
2- Ancient Egyptians were closer to Europeans in particular. Rather, Ancient Egyptians were first and foremost closer to Bedouins and other Levantine (i.e. Arab-like) groups.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
You need to retake your history lessons, ma'am. Greeks led by Alexander the Great invaded Egypt in 331 BC. Then Egypt remained a Greek state that has Alexandria as its capital under the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty who was established by one of Alexander's generals. Then in 31 BC Cleopatra lost war against Romans in the Battle of Actium and Egypt became a Roman state until 65 CE when Mark the Evangelist started preaching Christianity in Egypt for first time.
Egypt was a GreekoRoman state for almost 400 years before the arrival of Christianity. Following your logic then a lot of those early Christians mixed with Greeks and Romans are way too far from being pure ancient Egyptian descendants.
You like to hear from only one side, then it's your own problem.
xoxowony@reddit
No thanks, pretty sure i have the best grades in my history major. There's a difference between colonization and territorial ownership, Romans weren't Christian in the time of getting some of Africa. Plus they pretty much didn't care about what you did as long as you paid your taxes. With this logic Ethiopia and Armenia were forced to conver to Christianity. You love to hear only local information coming from the Arab population, while the Copts are killed and abused daily. No wonder why Egypt felt so unsafe when i travelled there a few times. I'll forever stand on the side of the colonized and prosecuted Christians and Jews in Africa and the Middle East
rakijautd@reddit
As a country, extremely rich and long history, sadly not doing so well today due to various reasons.
As for people, the ones I met were very kind and fun people. I heard that in tourist spots locals can be annoying and don't really respect personal space, and that they often offer stuff to "buy" women, which can range from wtf to disturbing.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing and yeah I can't deny the existence of those bad things, our country is full of surprises.
rakijautd@reddit
Eh, every place on earth has it's good and bad sides, Egypt is no different. There are a ton of great things I could add, but the original comment is what first came to mind.
funkmelow@reddit
Pyramid
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
YEA
funkmelow@reddit
And Tutanhamon, and the staff from elementary school
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
We got a lot of deez!
funkmelow@reddit
And Tutanhamon, and the staff from elementary school
funkmelow@reddit
And Tutanhamon, and the staff from elementary school.
loleenceee@reddit
It is a popular vacation spot, my grandparents go every year they like the climate. The resorts are great but everything outside them is not so good…
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing
Loan_Fancy@reddit
Rich history, unsafe to travel to. Radical islam is running rampant
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
There are radicals here of both sides like everywhere else, but in general, the majority of the Egyptians either Muslims or Christians are conservative. We aren't as liberal as Europe that's it.
Jeanw05@reddit
Great history, nowadays scammers
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Scamming is a remarkable thing enough that we locals suffer much from it.
Whole-Expression618@reddit
Rich history, but bad place to visit (especially for women)
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Yeah, sadly that's right. you gotta watch out carefully and get yourself some good local companions so nobody scams or harasses you.
Whole-Expression618@reddit
Also, Egypt has been IMO the most culturally influential Arab state in the 20th century, and still is very relevant to this day. Unfortunately a lot of socio-economic challenges, as their huge population and lack of arable land make it heavily dependent on wheat imports. Also, I give it a 10 percent chance to declare war on Ethiopia in the next 15 years
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Egypt is way too rich in different resources, but the big problem is that we have a military dictatorship that screws up all aspects of life.
arhisekta@reddit
Really? From what I was explained on my trip, is that Egypt is unfortunately very scarce in oil and some natural wealth, so you have to rely way too much on tourism. Also, water sources bought by Nestle, etc.
But I enjoyed my time. I spent some days in Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada, and was on Nile cruise for a few days.
Absolutely mesmerizing feeling watching the city from Cairo citadel. Really feels like you go back in time 500 years. Generally I loved the trip because I love history, and you have it in every corner.
People were also pretty nice to us, but the poverty is overwhelming. As far as I remember, there are around million inhabitants in Cairo living in the old Necropolis area, with no water or electricity.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
The status of Egypt nowadays is getting even worse due to that gang of generals sucking the life out of us. Reading the Egyptian daily news will give you depression. But I am glad that you enjoyed your time here.
Hungry_Ad2210@reddit
Pyramids, history, cool shit in museums, sketchy today.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing.
Statakaka@reddit
I've met a few Egyptians, they were cool people
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Glad to hear!
emuu1@reddit
I was in Alexandria last year aboard a cargo ship. Messy people, barely any English, the truck drivers broke out into fist fights every 4 hours because they were all poor, hungry, stressed and trying to drive as much so that they can feed themselves and their families. Seemed overcrowded also. History aside, modern Egypt had so much potential between the strategic location and the fertile Nile but I'm not a political expert so I don't know what went wrong in the last century.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
There's a military dictatorship on top, that's the answer for your wondering. Sorry for your bad experience.
Higgs-lova@reddit
Greek here, Cool people, I would say they have the good of the balkans and the bad of the balkans, very similar therefore
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Oh interesting!
Some_Random-Name01@reddit
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
CrazyGreekReloaded@reddit
I love Egypt so much! History , food, music! But both Greece and Egypt nowadays have bad governments ! I had a relationship with an Egyptian once great sex and smooth talk and lots of gifts lol
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
You enjoyed your time so far lol, yeah that's how an Egyptian guy would cherish his girl. Thanks for sharing.
Lblink-9@reddit
I know that women that had their babies left for Egypt and were nursing mothers. They earned money in such a way and sent it back home, so we learn that at history
Otherwise I don't know how we see it. It's interesting because of it's history, I don't know much about the current state
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing.
amigdala80@reddit
a hundred million country , ruled by a dictator named Sisi , life could never be this ironic ...
been in Cairo for short term , it was before Arab Spring ;
traffic was bad , people were ok , food was good ( toum sauce is a gamechanger , level ups your avarage tavuk döner)
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
That's a fair review so far!
desiderkino@reddit
had an Egyptian coworker. among other things he was always late. the boss did not wanted to fire him(boss was a very nice person ). asked him "please don't come late ", he kept coming late. they told a hr girl to call and wake him up every morning so he won't be late lol. still he was late every day
they had to fire him. then he went on LinkedIn and made some bullshit scenario about how the company is racist and that's why he is fired. the weird thing is the company did not tell anyone he was fired, even to other employees. only on one meeting we were told "he no longer wants to work with us, we wish him luck " or something
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
There are a lot of that bad model among us already, I am sorry for you guys.
DeadJunkhead@reddit
Mostly through Google Maps as I'm too broke to travel
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Hopefully, you achieve your dreams someday haha.
arisaurusrex@reddit
When you hear Egypt, you think of pyramids and the old egyptians. But when you are there, it feels unsafe.
Was there before, as long as you stay in the hotel grounds it‘s ok. But when you step outside, you really feel unsafe with people touching you and dragging into their stores.
And ofc I had to be extra careful for my mom and sister.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I'm really sorry for you.
madtrucker99@reddit
Could have been the beacon of the arab world, backwards politicians and people prevented that
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
That's right. But the people have no choice however.
dinustefanmarin@reddit
Is the Suez Canal Administration's staff still asking blatantly for bribes when they board a ship passing through?
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I don't live in a Suez canal governorate so I have no idea.
Che_Che93@reddit
Uneducated and primitive people. Disgusting hygiene. The real definition of third world country. Nothing to see there except pyramids.
ZhiveBeIarus@reddit
I don't think much about you guys, Egypt seems like a regular Middle Eastern country to me, maybe i will visit your land one day.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
You are welcome anytime!
ZhiveBeIarus@reddit
Thank you!
Majestic_Bus_6996@reddit
We have workers from Egypt where i work. He pulled a knife on a woman "as a joke". The fool got deported in three days. My opinion on Egyptians is not good.
limassol9@reddit
We don't care
Ok_Firefighter5414@reddit
Egipt women are like mumie , bad reputation no fredom for women
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Can you please explain more, what freedoms are you talking about exactly?
Ok_Firefighter5414@reddit
Women have more right on old ancient egipt than now in modern 21 century
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Can you give examples please? Take in mind that in ancient Egypt it was a whole different era, people followed a completely different religion and a completely different social system.
Nowadays Egyptians are either Muslims or Christians and the majority of both sides are conservatives who attend at the mosque/church regularly.
Ok_Firefighter5414@reddit
https://borgenproject.org/womens-rights-in-egypt/
Nonon0name@reddit
Unfortunately I haven't been to Egypt ever but I have few former colleagues that worked with me and I have another coworker married to an Egyptian gentleman.
Personally I find people to be very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately coworkers Egyptian gentleman came to see who am I and if it's ok for her to work with me. She even said that I have to speak with him so he knows I don't have any ill intentions towards his wife.
So based of my knowledge as everywhere else - you guys have some nice people and some not so nice, they're batshit crazy individuals.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Fair enough said. Sorry for any troubles you faced with them.
Cautious-Passage-597@reddit
Well, I'm proud because an Albanian established a modern Egypt state.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Oh yeah, Mohamed Ali Pasha.
orionthewretch@reddit
I like Egypt, friendly people and good food. Oddly enough though, even though I’m orthodox, I get along better with the Muslims than I do with the Coptics. The coptics are not as friendly as Muslim Egyptians in my experience
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Woah, you surprised me with this comment, sir. Thanks for sharing!
Nal1999@reddit
Greeks consider Egyptians old cousins and we like to remind you that we built your most beautiful city.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Yeah, and Alexandria nowadays is the second most important city after Cairo.
Rough_Typical@reddit
Yeah, but Nasser threw the Greek community out of Egypt after 2500 years....
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Nasser was actually a big jerk who was famous for making many terrible decisions. so yeah, it's not weird for something like that to be done by him.
HuusSaOrh@reddit
Today i left Alexandria. Inşallah I wouldn’t have to return. Everyone i see demanded cigarettes or money.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I am really sorry for you. yeah, beggars form a sort of gangs nowadays and they spread like a disease in many cities.
HuusSaOrh@reddit
Bro they were immigration and customs officers.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
There's great corruption in the authorities themselves too. and we Egyptians can do anything to prevent it. This post gave me a really bad feeling, kardesim. May almighty Allah save us.
cressida0x0@reddit
Shithole. If it wasn't for the historical richness it would have been even worse off than what it is
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I am really sorry for your bad time here and I hope that you may have a better one in the near future, but you could have expressed it a bit gently. you know, it's a bit offensive to say it like that directly to my face.
godessPetra_K@reddit
Had an Egyptian ex boyfriend, he and his family are great, but other than that I’ve had negative interactions with other Egyptians.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Sorry for the bad encounters and I hope that the good family you were close to did some positive changes in your opinion.
OnlyZac@reddit
Like Greece: great past, lame present
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I feel ya ..
fituica@reddit
Pyramids of Giza, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra and redditors reporting bad experiences from their travels to Egypt. That's what I know about Egypt, I have not met any Egyptians yet so I don't have any specific view on Egyptians.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Thanks for sharing.
taYetlyodDL@reddit
I was in Cairo last week. Loved every minute of it. Dying for some koshary right now
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
You got me hungry for a plate of Koshary at midnight, sir!
taYetlyodDL@reddit
I'll get you one man, I still have Talabat on my phone lol
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Haha, believe it or not, I live somewhere that Talabat can't reach lol.
Relevant_Mobile6989@reddit
I personally see Egypt as one of the most important countries in Africa. There are plenty of Romanian Orthodox pilgrims going to Egypt each year to visit monasteries and tourists going there for the archeological sites.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Since you edited your comment then let me add further details, The Christians here way numerous (almost 20 million according to their claims) and of course, some tensions do happen from one time to another, but the government gives due care to protect them and insists on spreading a speech of national unity between Muslims and Christians (since sadly anyone wanting to make a public view mess will directly head to bomb a church) but in general we share same life together like any other peoples of different faiths living on the same land.
And yeah, blasphemy (to mock the religion of someone else) in Egyptian law is a crime.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Interesting ..
CarusoHairline@reddit
Mo Salah, sketchy street vendors and tour guides, pyramids, rabid corruption, cool old coptic churches , in no particular order
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
This dude knows a lottt.
CarusoHairline@reddit
My ex was Egyptian lol and I grew up near a Coptic church hence “knowledge”
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I see ..
sjedinjenoStanje@reddit
Baksheesh
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
shake your pockets to pass in
GoHardLive@reddit
Τhe country is pretty much a mess nowadays, unfortunately
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I can't argue with that.
AnalysisQuiet8807@reddit
Mate everyone i talked to that had dealings with Egyptians told me to stay away from them…
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
Really sorry for that. hope you meet some good us who change your opinion.
ciprian-miles@reddit
When i hear about Egypt i automatically feel pity for the Coptic people living there. I often ask myself why are you guys so abusive with them but then i remember the rest of you are muslim so it all makes sense.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
I am an Allah-fearing Muslim and I have many Christian friends actually. been good to each other and worked together through school and college. No personal matter with them at all.
ciprian-miles@reddit
You have a good soul. I wish you the best!
holyrs90@reddit
Egypt, great past , trash now
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
The sad reality.
blitzdisease@reddit
Cleopatra
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
YEA Kelobatra
sjedinjenoStanje@reddit
Balkan connection lol
smrk_tf2@reddit
Knew two Egyptians.
The first guy stalked my coworker (she was his ex-girlfriend) for months, even following her across multiple countries and tried to win her back by preventing her from speaking to other guys. He threatened that he will kill me and tried to attack me a few times after he saw his ex and me speaking together at work.
The second guy got employed at my last workplace and during his training, about two weeks in he just stands up and says "I can't take this shit anymore" and leaves. We never saw him again.
Plus_Paramedic974@reddit (OP)
OH MY ... I am really sorry for that.