Worried about moving

Salam alaykum,

Please sister, contact me privately if you need any help. Honestly Cairo it is not safe at present, and I would not recommend to any women to move there alone, especially near downtown.

If you need to work somewhere else, I'll assist you, insha Allah as I specified in my email.

Jazaki Allahu khair

mydream wrote:

Hi I am due to come to Cairo and I have to say  I am a bit worried now after hearing so many scary stories.

People have told me NEVER let anyone know you are alone in your apartment and NEVER go out alone.

I wear Islamic clothing as I am a revert to Islam and i wear hijab, so I do dress appropriately but I have been told this is still not enough.

I am so sad to hear these stories as I have always felt so safe in Egypt before and its such a shame if these stories are true. As I cannot yet speak arabic,I am learning, it will be obvious I am a foreigner Also I will have to work whilst I am there, I have a job in a pharmacy, so I will be in contact with people daily and hopefully i can make friends,does anyone have any advice?

yea some places now in cairo aren't safe
i live in Nasr City and everything is good
we hear from time to time about a flat or a car that has been stolen but the media always make thing bigger than what it's
after the revolution till like 6 months from now there were no security at all
bunch of cars have been stolen but now but now it's not that worse compare to that time

where you will stay in Cairo?

Gangs and mobs are exploiting the change of gov to inflict violence on women both egyptians and foreigners. Some rumours say these attacks are orchestrated by a faction of the gov or army, as they are systematic, particularly in Tahrir. Women are assaulted, stripped of the clothes and sexually assaulted by gangs between 40 and 200 men. Police does not do anything about it. Both Egyptian protesters and female journalists have been attacked in day light. It is really a disgrace for a muslim country. Perhaps Morsi has to learn from Mubarak the fact that Egyptians can only be ruled by force.
People do not fear Allah, they only fear a jail torturer who will rape his mother and sister if they attempt public disorder, or play football with his child head. This was under Mubarak in secret jails, now it is happening in the streets.

Wal quwwatu lillahi jami'an.

Helo,

Yes the situation is not very good, but still there is some safe area,
for my self I am in rehab & honestly it is very safe,
so you should be careful of you housing & the transportation needed
I had colleague girls living a lone & things are ok

so dont worry every thing will be ok, jute take care

Personally, I wouldn't live in Egypt alone. I lived in Cairo with a friend and we did everything together.

It has nothing to do with hijab or what clothing you wear. I have not experienced any harassment but it does happen to every type of girl.

If anything your religion will be exploited - I'm sorry to say this but this is real life for me on a daily basis - for example: I get overcharged for taxi because I'm foreign and then when I argue for my change they then proceed to discuss my religion and how wonderful it is, hence to remind me to be kind and spare the change I'm owed.
(This is my personal opinion and not meant to be rude and I'm not generalising all taxi drivers BUT this is just my experiences and advice.)

I think you have to be very strong, very confident, learn basic Arabic ASAP (and learn the 'rude' words so you know when you hear them!) and take no bullsh*t

But then also... enjoy the weather, people's kindness, and take everything with a pinch of salt and you'll be fine lol

Dear mydream,

I dont think it is so terrible...these horrible things really do happen, but it is usualy in specific areas and in a tremendous huge city. I think it is ok for you to come if its your wish to do so.

Try not to go alone at night, dont give any information to non trusted ppl, etc. the same you do in your home country.

I wish you the best of luck

wow i am glad that I saw this topic, I didn't know Egypt wasn't safe for girls. I was happy to go there as a safer place, comparing to europe but after reading all the comments I don't know where it's more safe. Omg how is it possible in Egypt? I felt always safe over there.

loveinyoureyes wrote:

wow i am glad that I saw this topic, I didn't know Egypt wasn't safe for girls. I was happy to go there as a safer place, comparing to europe but after reading all the comments I don't know where it's more safe. Omg how is it possible in Egypt? I felt always safe over there.

hey loveinyoureyes
only some places in Egypt that aren't safe
as you may know the ignorance rate in Egypt is really high so in some places ppl kill each others for some of dumb reasons
the small problems become BIG one

but this happened in the poor, local areas in Egypt Like Matareya
as you know the government security is trying to come back with it's full power but it needs time

in the good area's in Egypt like Nasr City, Rehab City, Mohandseen, Ma'adi,.... the ignorance ratio is very small
so what happened is the criminals and some poor ppl is taking thwe advantage of weak security and steal cars (and asking for money to give to you back) , flats of the others
that was happening alot after the revolution but few months back it decreased alot it doesn't happened often like what the media says

for the girls/women there's alot of sexually harassed by some of shallow minded guys recorded recently

Hello All,

Lets all of us imagine of big & huge colored box, however on each side there is different and variant patterns of letters, shapes & symbols...  and we all are sitting around this box and for sure we all are seeing the same box but from our own perspective which would shape later on our point of view..


So, when a person say that Egypt is very crowded and noisy that would be probably I'm talking about Cairo specially down town but that is can't be Ismaelia or any of Sinai cities which is the non crowed at all and the most pure, clam and relaxing spots over this planet..

mm.. about the security issue.. the same applies.. Most Egyptian people used to keep their home doors open all the day specially in the urban & local areas while in the main cities youth tend to go wild  as they would hike along with the river side they do it doesn't matter if it is midnight or 3AM .. this would be one of the amazing funny free-of-charge outing in Cairo and the more the pack goes the more fun and loughs raise up..

Did i mentioned that Egypt is mentioned in all the holy books: Old book, Bible & the Qur'an and it is named to be the most safe place over our planet. so Egyptians feel safe all the time and foreigners gain this feeling from native Egyptians..

All that was 99% true with very limit off-the record accidents which Egyptian rejected and cause they are so limited people keep mentioning it..

May be this feeling of being safe every where had been changed slight a bit after the Arabic revolutions as it bring violence to the streets and many people consider this violence is systematic and not from the real Egyptians..

Now let's change our point of view to the box and see it from the other side.. I'm talking now about North America for example.. can any body specially ladies tell me if they can leave their home doors open, or can they go walk out in the street without any aim just for fun.. or even leave their warm houses just to buy something which may be Ice cream from the market at midnight. I didn't mention for sure the unlimited cased of serial killers and raping percentage in US.

What about going to Harlem, do you believe it is safe there.. or crossing the boarders to Mexico city - officially the US government declare that any navy or solider or army member goes there it would be on his own and Uncle Sam wouldn't come for him if any thing happen -

The pure and simple fact that as you can't just wear a Speedo / bikini while buying your grocery in US the same occurs here in Egypt..

As long you fellow the regulations, habits or traditions of the place and the spot you are in nothing would happen to you..

Just be cautious the same as you do in your hometown. take the same careful procedures and you hopefully would never face any bad experience doesn't matter where you are.

Finally i would say if you are in Italy speak Italian and eat pizza and if you are in Greek do what the Greek do.. lol so i wish you do the same here fellow what the pure and normal native do and you would enjoy your stay where ever you are..

Wish all luck for all expats & feel safe as safety begin from the inside and would be conflicted to the outside for sure

Thank you for your reply and I have to say I have always felt safe in Cairo when I have been before. I was in Cairo just after the revolution and nothing bad happened, the people were just as lovely as they always have been. I guess you are right and maybe people hear the odd bad story and believe that to be the truth all over. I am muslim, so i dress in Islamic clothes and I wear the hijab, I am trying to learn arabic.......not easy but I will keep trying and when I am there Insha Allah it will become a bit easier.

Thank you again for you kind words

mydream wrote:

I am muslim, so i dress in Islamic clothes and I wear the hijab, I am trying to learn arabic.......not easy but I will keep trying and when I am there Insha Allah it will become a bit easier.

You, your husband & all kids are always welcome in Egypt any time as Egypt arms are always open all human all over earth. 

Regarding learning Arabic.. there are many options..

A) In your home town and i can't help with that..sorry


B) Available options in Egypt:

1) Going to NGO - free Arabic language classes like in resala.org

2) Joining a friendly group that teach Arabic language in exchange with English language for free like
facebook.com/groups/ftlecairo

3) Finding a friend or group of friends whom would practice Arabic with you and help you with learning daily language and dialect.. for sure that would be free if you can trust such person it would be recommended that your husband join you such sessions.

4) you can hire a professional instructor in teaching Arabic language for non Arabic or native speakers.. and sure the rate is upon agreement between you and the instructor. and you benefit from learning at your own pace.

e.g. my sister had graduated from Azhar university and she is qualified and authorized to teach Arabic language & Islam to foreigners. However she only offer her services to Females & Kids.. but may be some of her colleagues and friends work with couples.

5) final option is Arabic language schools & language training c

Thank you again and i will look at thee options once we reach Egypt Insha Allah

We have decided now to move to Hurghada or Dahab rather than in Cairo itself, I think that would be a better option in the beginning.

it's not as bad as people make it out to be but you should be very careful. it's true, never tell anyone your living situation as it can bring you some unwanted attention or criticism. It's really how you handle yourself here. Just be cautious and live somewhere safe. Al Rehab is probably your best bet at the moment. don't worry, it's not anymore dangerous than living in the US or UK.

meems74 I understand what you wrote and sometimes people are making it bigger. But the thing is I loved Egypt because how it was, a place where I felt myself safe, no matter what; which I didn't ever feel in europe. So the comparing with europe doesn't make me feel more comfortable haha