Egypt Correspondent:
Questions and Answers for the Sophisticated Egypt Tourist
What is served in the Coffee Houses?
Coffee - probably Turkish coffee, very strong!
Karkaday Shai- a tea made of hibiscus flowers, drunk hot with lots of sugar.
Mint Tea - normal caffiene type tea with a sprig of mint placed in the hot tea. To be poured with much style, lifting the tea pot high above the glass and pouring. Hint: Don't hold the glass, in case you miss. Also note that the tea is served in glass, not a cup, so test the temperature of the full glass before you pick it up.
Narghiles- Water pipes for smoking flavored tobacco. A soothing smoke, but still tobacco.
Shesha - Flavored tobacco, usually molasses or apple.
Local Egypt coffee bars are usually men only, but ask your guide where you might go for this unique experience.
Just what is Baksheesh and when should I give Baksheesh?
Baksheesh - tipping, but it is a bit more subtle than that, there are a few types of baksheesh.
Giving of Alms to the poor is one form of baksheesh. Street Beggars are not often seen, and children are discouraged from running after tourists, so if you wish to gain spiritual merit in this manner, go to the local mosque and ask where you can give bakseesh to the poor or the orphans. There are orphanages who can use your donations.
Giving a Tip for services is a more familiar form of baksheesh, but it is expected for many more services than you might be used to. Baksheesh is the only form of wage that many people make, so small "tips" for small services is the best way to describe it. Some of these services that you are sure to run into are mandatory "tips", usually 1 Egyptian Pound for the toilet attendant and voluntary baksheesh for room cleaners and waiters. Don't be stingy, but no need to give large amounts.
If you are on a group tour, this may all be taken care of by your tour guide, who will report the daily output to the group and expect everyone to contribute a share.
Then there are the large tips for large services! The first category for this are daily baksheesh for the car or bus driver, and your regular tour guide. This should be more than that given to the toilet attendant, obviously. These can be paid at the end of the tour if you have the same drivers and guides, but you may want to take care of this every day to encourage great service the next day!
The tomb and site attendants should be included in some form of Baksheesh, as well. Also, there are larger amounts of Baksheesh given to see and do special extra things. These are like the high roller tips in Vegas. For example, if you ask the Antiquities people to arrange for a tomb to be shown to you, there may not be a "ticket" system that covers the special opening and supervison while you are there, so you should give a larger amount of baksheesh to the attendant who opens the tomb and shows you around.
If you are handing out your own baksheesh directly,use your judgement or ask your tour conductor what would be appropriate until you get the hang of it.
Hossam Rashwan for EgyptHoliday.com
