ashleyclanton

Hello everyone! I'm traveling to Egypt from August 4th to August 21st, visiting Cairo, Marina (north coast), and Sharm el Sheikh. I'll be travelling with my boyfriend, full egyptian and full arabic speaking. I only know a couple of phrases.

I understand that I'll be there during Ramadan. Will there be places for me to purchase cigarettes and liquor if I so choose? Can I bring liquor in my checked baggage without fear of it getting confiscated? I don't mean to sound like a total drunkard. I usually only average a drink or two a week with dinner. I'm not going to party or anything of that sort, but I do occasionally enjoy a drink.

Any tips you might recommend me for traveling around egypt will be greatly appreciated!

Grcxx3

I you want hard liquor - then I would bring some in with you (don't recall what the limit is), or buy it in the duty free as you head out of the airport. Egyptian beer and wine (both pretty good these days) are available at a variety of markets/stores in Cairo. Of course, major hotels and restaurants also have alcohol available.

As for guidelines (hoping Casual_Cairo will add her 2 cents) - just remember that during the day, Muslims don't eat, drink, or smoke. So, it is considered impolite to eat/drink/smoke in public. There will also be many things that are closed (or have limited hours) during the day, so you might need to be flexible with your plans.

Is your boyfriend Muslim? Will he be fasting?

Casual_Cairo

Grcxx3 - boy have you been gone too long (during Ramadan)!! Remember NO booze sold during Ramadan except at the 5* hotels. You forgot? Remember Drinkies closes up for the whold month of Ramadan. Any expat worth their salt stocks up before Ramadan or heads to the 5* hotels to pay premium prices for a drink or to the ACE or BCA - but tourists don't generally find those places.

ashleyclanton

Neither of us are religious in any sense of the word. Im a bit on the spiritual side but he is a hardline athiest, though he was raised muslim and his family are practicing muslims.

I've never been before so the heat will probably keep us inside during the day anyway.

He refuses to take me to the zoo lol. Other than that the big thing in cairo I wanted to see is obviously the pyramids, tahrir, a couple of musuems and the marketplace. Any suggestions? I hear there are very beautiful mosques.

I really want to go to luxor but he wants to save that for next time I come, hopefully in the winter lol.

Im visiting him. He is there now because of the mandatory army service. After he is released we will move either back here to america or to europe.

Grcxx3

<<Remember NO booze sold during Ramadan except at the 5* hotels.>>

hehehe - I was always able to get beer/wine from our local groceries!!! Drinkies only opened in Maadi during our last year there, so didn't use them that much.

winterbaby

im going to egypt next week am very excited good luck have a safe nice trip and hope you enjoy your drinks

i would definitley say dont do eat drink etc in public as they cant during the daytime.

good luck

Casual_Cairo

Ashley - Do come back and tell us all about your trip and what expectations you had of Egypt and this boy were met and which were a surprise. I think you have LOTS of surprises ahead of you.... mostly good ones I hope!

MissGreen

I saw plenty of Middle Eastern folks chowing down on food in the airport lounge during Ramadan.

Casual_Cairo

Miss Green, they were either NOT Muslim, it was after sunset, OR they were giving themselves a break because they were "traveling" which I guess is one of the exceptions under which you can avoid fasting - but you are supposed to make it up later.

dunes

The interim government at least didn't do daylight savings this year, so sunset will come an hour ealier, but no booze will be sold for the most part. Some restaurants will serve it in teacups, but you would have to know where those are, and there aren't many.

You will be able to buy food during the day, but many restaurants are closed since they don't generate enough lunchtime business.

If you want to go out during the day and make sure you eat while you're out, bring food with you, and make sure it is inconspicuous in terms of smell/mess, etc., since you will likely be eating it in front of hot, tired people who aren't even allowed to have water. Hotels will still serve lunch. Your friend will have it harder than you if he's Egyptian, because everyone will expect him to fast. I recommend eating at home as much as possible. Dinner will be ok, but make sure you miss the sundown "iftar" hour at restaurants, because it will be packed!!

Grcxx3

Is the no-booze being sold something new? Because I NEVER had trouble getting beer/wine during Ramadan.

Trust me - that is something I'd remember (and NOT like!)

Grcxx3

Or maybe the "rules" were just a little looser in Maddi because of all the expats????

Casual_Cairo

For as long as I've lived here, booze has been difficult to buy during Ramadan. I'm in Heliopolis, and years ago (before Drinkies) I guess there were/are some Coptic owned businesses that will continue to sell what they have on hand. They can't get it from ABC so once they are sold out, they are sold out, and I suspect they had to be careful who they sell it to as I would think the government would have been unhappy to find them selling it. These days, Drinkies and Cheers will close up during Ramadan. At 5* hotels you can still get a beer, drink or whatever if you are clearly a foreigner in the bars. I heard there is a restaurant along the Nile (can't remember the name) on the Dokki side that will sell beer in un marked cups only. And, years ago I went to the Sheraton with an Egyptian that was a real regular at the bar there - he managed to get his gin drink served to him in a coffee cup, but that was because he was a regular. Coptics can't even show any I.D. that they are not Muslim and get served.

Also, the BCA, ACE and other private clubs will lay in supplies so it can be purchased there if someone is thirsty.

Grcxx3

There was one Coptic owned store where I used to get wine/beer, but there was also a Muslim owned store that sold beer (don't remember about wine). Maybe they did stock up.....knowing their customers!!

colduphere

Hmmm we ate in restaurants before sundown last August in Cairo as did lots of others like us. Muslims ordered their food around 6 pm, waited and then ate huge plates of food as soon as the bell sounded, so to speak.

MissGreen

I am saying that despite the 'warnings' we got on the plane or at the airport about not eating in front of muslims there were plenty of locals that just did as normal.