Egyptians are a diverse group of people with a rich culture that connects all of them together. Modern Egyptian culture is complex and changing continuously as Egypt, like other Middle Eastern countries, is interacting more and more with both the United States and the rest of the world. Egypt is undoubtedly a crossroads of many cultures, which it owes partly to its location in between Europe, Africa, and Asia. However, many unique cultural traits remain in Egypt throughout almost all of the populace, and these traits will be explored in this report.
Overview of Egyptian Demographics
According to the CIA’s The World Factbook, the current population of Egypt is 80,335,036 (July 2007 estimate). More specific data from that source explains that Egypt has a large youth population, with 32.2% of the population being between the ages of 0-14. 63.2% of the population is between the ages of 15-64 years of age, and only 4.6% of the populace is 65 or older. To draw a comparison, Germany, which is just north of Egypt in Europe, has 19.8% of the population aged 65 or older, according to the CIA’s The World Factbook. This statistic partly can be attributed to the fact that health care for the elderly in Egypt is not as well supported by the government as in other countries.
The ethnic groups in Egypt are as follows: Egyptians make up 98% of the population. Berber, Nubian, Bedouin, and Beja contribute 1%, and Greek, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) make up the rest, as referenced in the CIA’s site. The main religious group in Egypt are Muslims, making up about 90%, and most of these are Sunni Muslims. Coptic Christians, who have been living in Egypt since ancient times, contribute about 9% of the population, and Christians make up most the remaining population. Like the other Middle Eastern countries, Egypt’s main and official language is Arabic, spoken by almost all its citizenry. English and French are usually understood by the educated classes, who are also generally more wealthy since learning these languages usually requires having the resources to either be placed into private educational institutions or having the luxury of learning it on one’s own time. Also, literacy in general in Egypt is about 71.4%, with males having a significantly higher percentage of literacy than females, at 83%, versus 59.4% for females. Egypt is still considered a developing nation, and a very large percentage of the population (20 % ) is living under the poverty line, according the CIA web site. These poor Egyptians usually cannot afford to pursue higher education and many are forced to take labor-intensive jobs to make ends meet.
General Egyptian Traits and Aspects and Influence of Cairo
Egyptians are a family-centered society, and most people live in nuclear families. Until recently, divorce was very uncommon in Egypt. Egyptians are friendly and hospitable, and most would be more than willing to help tourists find their way around. Another trait common of Egyptians living in the large cities such as Cairo or Alexandria is being patient with the many hardships they have to deal with. As Andrew Beattie says eloquently in his book Cairo, A Cultural History, “There is a continuous tension between competing strands of social and economic change: between the modern and the traditional, the western and the Islamic, and most of all between rich and poor. But Cairenes are tolerant, of noise, dust and discomfort. Their resourcefulness and optimism prevent the city, somehow, from slipping into the abyss. ”
Very congested traffic is now a daily experience for Egyptians, along with long lines and dealing with an often insensitive government. Middle and lower-class Egyptians in Cairo are especially put under the stress of transportation in the crowded city, either through buses or through the subway system. Only a small percentage of Egyptians can afford to hire taxis daily to take them where they need to go or drive on their own through the crowded streets.
As Beattie explains in his book(pages 211-212), Cairo is the focal point of Egypt, and has experienced a population explosion. From 1947 to 1967 the city’s population doubled. The industrialization policy that was instituted by the former president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, has attracted fellahin(peasants who usually work in agriculture) from impoverished rural areas into the city. Also, health care improved, and this lowered the death rate but the birth rate remained high, causing the population to skyrocket. Today, as Beattie further points out, one in four Egyptians is a Cairene. Furthermore, Cairo is not only the capital of Egypt but dominates Egypt in all major aspects – economically, culturally, intellectually, and socially. In Cairo are housed the center of publishing and the media, and the huge television industry in Cairo which broadcasts all over the country and around the Middle East can be partly blamed for making Cairo such a magnet for potential migrants. Thus, Cairo’s influence nowadays in largely secular, with Egyptian pop music, films, and television providing the dominant theme of popular culture for the whole of the Middle East.
One commonality among Egyptians is national pride.A widespread and often-heard phrase among Egyptians of all classes is Masr ummidunya, which means literally “Egypt is the mother of the world.” The state-supervised television programs in Egypt often play programs that aim to strengthen national pride, and the Egyptian national anthem is played frequently and memorized by schoolchildren at a young age. As explained in the 2002 Egypt Cultural Profiles Project another source of pride to Egyptians is their hospitality to guests, which shows how much they value hospitality. Also, Beattie stresses that Cairenes have great pride in their city, as there is five thousand years of history and some of the world’s most amazing monuments are housed within Cairo.
The 2002 Egypt Cultural Profiles Project explains all of the holidays and food of Egypt. For all Egyptian citizens, the main National Holiday is July 23. It celebrates Revolution Day, which happened in 1952. For the Muslims in Egypt there are two major holidays. The first is Eid-al-Fitr which comes at the end of Ramadan(month-long fast) and is celebrated with much feasting, gift-giving, and charity. The second main holiday is Eid-al-Adha which commemorates the Prophet Abraham’s willingness to offer his son for sacrifice to God. During this time Muslims have a goat or sheep slaughtered and have the meat donated to needy families. For the Coptic Christians the main holiday is Christmas, which is celebrated on January 7. For Coptic Christians Saints are very important and on Saints’ days many will travel to faraway monasteries and churches. There are also some folk festivals that are celebrated by all Egyptians that demonstrate a blending of cultures and religions. One example of this is Sham-el-Nissim (literally translates to “smelling of the breeze”), which is a day when families go out to picnic or enjoy the outdoors.
For Egyptians eating is almost always a social event, as 2002 Egypt Cultural Profiles Project explains. Flat-bread is the main part of an Egyptian meal, and is served with meat, beans, eggs, vegetables, or cheese. Egyptian bread is round and hollow, and made of whole wheat. A typical breakfast would consist of tea and beans, cheese, eggs, or jam with bread. One very popular breakfast food in Egypt is taamiya, which is called falafel in English. It is put inside of bread and is made of ground fava beans mixed with spices.Desserts include pastries such as baklava or halawa(halva – a sweet made with crushed sesame seeds and honey, and various flavorings). The main traditional dessert of Egypt is called bassbousah, which is a sweet cake with the following ingredients: semolina, yogurt, butter and milk covered with syrup.
According to the 2002 Egypt Cultural Profiles Project for supper, Egyptians usually eat a meal which consists of cooked chicken, beef or fish, vegetables with rice, pastas, and pickles and salads. Rice and pasta are both staples of Egyptian foods, and this is combined together in the traditional Egyptian meal called koshari, which is a bowl of rice with lentils and sometimes pasta on top. This is a very healthy, delicious, and economical meal.
Egyptians today spend their leisure time in a variety of ways. The older generation often are more family-oriented and will spend time socializing together, frequenting cafes, or watching televisions. The younger generation today is much more diverse and oftentimes follows the Western culture. With the advent of the Internet, many of Egyptian youth spend their leisure time online or by playing online-multiplayer games at cyber-cafes. Like American youth, many Egyptian youth nowadays frequent social networking sites like Facebook and also email websites. Egyptians also like to watch movies, both domestically produced and American Hollywood films. Many Egyptians enjoy socializing with their friends at malls and around landmark areas in downtown district. Traveling to Alexandria or to the Mediterranean coast is a frequent source of vacation and leisure.
Egyptian music is very popular among both the youth and the elders. The older generation often listen to the old classical Egyptian music and sometimes American music from the 1980s or early 90s. The younger generation, who are generally under 30, enjoy listening to American music that is more modern along with new Egyptian pop music.
The most popular sport in Egypt is by far soccer. The Egyptian national team recently won the African Cup, and this was much celebrated in Egypt. Egyptians do not generally play the classic American sports of baseball, football, and basketball. Soccer is the only sport that is played and/or known for a large portion of the population. Egyptian soccer club rivalries are intense, and games are always watched in cafes and in households around the country. Whenever the national team or one of the major Egyptian club teams win a major game, the streets will overflow with fans and cars will honk their horns at random. Indeed, soccer is one of the unifying cultural phenomena in modern Egypt.
Andrew Beattie, Cairo: A Cultural History (Cityscapes). City: Oxford University Press.
CIA, “CIA – the World Factbook – Egypt,” CIA – the World Factbook.
Egypt Cultural Profiles Project, “Egypt – a Cultural Profile.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
