[naswanji]

(10-17-2018 11:47 AM)Caduceus Wrote:  

Looking for some infomation on Cairo from guys who have either lived or visited there. Both in terms of gaming girls and how the city is in general as a tourist.

I do NOT expect to be gaming local muslim girls very much for obvious reasons, but wanted to know the low down on approaching tourists girls and local non-muslims. Is this feasible or not ?

Also am interested in general information as a tourist and with regards to safety. Is Cairo worth visiting ? Will I have an interesting time there ? Is it a safe place to walk around alone (including at night) ?

I am quite well travelled and wanted to know if it's any better/worse, and more or less dangerous than say Morocco and/or Turkey ?

Thanks

Hey Caduceus, I wrote a datasheet about Cairo a few years back when I was living there:

thread-10337...#pid162978

The good venues have changed somewhat since then, but the general breakdown of Egyptian girls is still valid. I also think that in the past few years the country is gradually becoming more liberal. You see less girls wearing hijab than in the past and even girls who are otherwise conservatively dressed are showing off their ankles now.

As I explain there, you can by all means game the local Muslim girls in Egypt. Obviously not with full balls-to-the-wall cold approaching on the street, but it is certainly possible to hook up with them using a discreet approach.

You mentioned gaming local non-Muslims, by which I assume you mean Egyptian Christians. To be honest though, Egyptian Christian girls are no more and no less easier to bang than Muslim girls -- they might even be tougher since their community is more close knit.

In terms of the general tourist experience, Cairo has the potential to be an amazing experience, but you have to get off the beaten path a little and maybe learn a little Arabic before you go. If you just visit the pyramids and then go back to a crappy downtown hotel at the end of the day, you will end up hating the place. If on the other hand you go out to experience all the different levels and time periods that coexist in Cairo, you can have an amazing time that has no parallel even in other Middle Eastern countries.

With regards to safety, Egypt is extremely safe. More than Turkey or Morocco, Cairo is a city that never sleeps, and so even at 3 or 4 am there will be life in the streets from cafes and late-night food stands, so you should have no problem walking around anywhere. Violent crime is almost unheard of (at least in the form of armed robbery or the other kind of things you have to watch out for in Latin America, for example).

You asked about how Egypt compares to Turkey and Morocco.

Compared to Turkey:

The women are less attractive but probably easier. If you look Western -- not even blonde but just lighter skin than the average Egyptian -- you will stand out and get a "white god factor" kind of boost. In general, Egyptian society is very welcoming and open to foreigners, and many girls here would love to snag a foreigner of their own. There also is no language barrier in Egypt since most people speak some English, and any girl you could possibly bang will almost certainly speak fairly good English.

As a tourist experience, Cairo is a more difficult and intense city to deal with than Istanbul. More congestion and more disorder. Feels more third world. Average level of food quality is lower, but there is amazing food in Cairo if you know where to look (especially among some of the foreign communities in Cairo, such as Sudanese, Yemenis, and even Chinese). This craziness is balanced out by the sense that the past and tradition is more alive in Cairo and not just a nice monument to go and look at. There are plenty of people on the street who still dress and think like Arabs from the Middle Ages.

Turkey is also more open and liberal about alcohol consumption, with bars open to the street, chairs and tables on the street where you can drink raki or have a beer. In Egypt by contrast, bars try to be discreet and so will not have a conspicuous entrance. Combined with the fact that you can smoke anywhere and everywhere in Egypt, some are very stuffy as a result, but this is compensated by the fact that many bars are situated in open-air rooftops or Nileside boats.

Compared to Morocco:

I haven't gamed in Morocco so I can't speak to the differences in the women, although generally in the Middle East, Moroccan women have a reputation for being dangerous since they are wily and supposedly skilled in black magic. By contrast, my impression is that Egyptian girls are more simple, playful and enthusiastic, and less scheming and pretentious than girls from other Arab countries.

For the tourist experience, I guess the biggest difference is that in Morocco the country is more decentralized, with Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech all offering very different things. One city might be better for game while another for cultural experience. Whereas in Egypt all these things are piled on top of each other, so that you can go from one extreme to the another in the course of a day.

Morocco also seemed sleepier and less vibrant than Egypt. Even areas that supposedly have nightlife in Morocco seem pretty dead, whereas Egyptians of all types and not just bar-hoppers are buzzing until late hours. Moroccans are also more closed-off than Egyptians and don't have as much of a sense of humor, whereas the Egyptian sense of humor is legendary.

Where Morocco really beats Egypt is in nature and in outdoor activities. Egypt really only has two types of nature -- the Nile valley and desert. Morocco on the other hand has a real variety of landscapes and better tourist infrastructure for enjoying them.

Then to respond to what some other posters are saying about the touts and tourist traps, of course that exists but you just have to know where to avoid and how to shut that down right away. Really the only places that have touts are areas where the tourists congregate. In Cairo that would be downtown, Khan al-Khalili and the pyramids. If one of them tries to talk to you, all you need to ignore them, say "shukran" (thank you) and keep walking. In every other neighborhood you will be fine and no one will bother you on the street just because you're a foreigner. Outside of Cairo, Luxor and the beach resorts can be bad for touts and scams, because those areas are almost all tourists.

I also think edlefou's characterization of the security surrounding tourists is exaggerated. There are a few more precautions around tourist sites and the subway than there were a few years ago, but in Cairo and other major cities you are absolutely free to circulate and come and go as you please without police escort or anything like that.

Anyway, I used to live in Cairo and have been back to visit a few times over the years, so I'll be happy to help if there's anything else you want to know.