Currently Egypt has a population of about 71 million people throughout this country; roughly about sixty-two million are Sunni Muslims and the rest are Coptic Christians. As I have talked about before, these egyptians are moderately religious in which principles of religion are apparent in their daily lives. This beautiful country is one of most desirable countries to travel to considering the customs and generosity of the Egyptians. People in Egypt are very welcoming to visitors; they will greet them and offer them comfort in their houses, whether it is a seat to sit down or something to drink. Despite what the media says about Egypt, this Country is known to be moderately safe to travel to compared to western Countries and has very little or no relation to what the media says. Because of their family standards and traditions, whether they are Christian or Muslim, they tend to appeal to outsiders as the true hospitable hosts they truly are.
As all Muslims fast during Ramadan, their holy month, almost all Egyptians do the same. During this time it is known that during the time from the sun rise to the sun set they do not eat or drink, do not use profanity or think bad thoughts, instead it is their time to be thankful for all they have and to be living. This holy month brings everyone together in respect, love, to get to know each other, and to ask for forgiveness. Especially at night when they celebrate their traditions and put on activities.
The mosques are gathering places for worship to the faithful of Islam, in which tourists are welcome to view while a service is not in session. Their main services each week are usually at noon on Fridays, all arms must be covered and no shoes are to be worn in the mosques. On the day before Ramadan, 'Eid al-Fitr', the women and men gather together in the morning and either pray outside in a large place, or in the mosques.
The tradition for the Coptic Calendar during each year is very interesting and is centered around a solar cycle. This calendar is different in the sense that the twelve months are each of thirty days, and then it has one month of only five days. This calendar is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church authorities and by farmers that harvest crops.
About eighty-five percent of the women in Egypt stay virgins until they are married. They do so only for themselves but also as in terms of modesty. Staying a virgin until marriage is usually a common choice for the women in the Middle East because most of the men would rather marry a virgin anyways. They believe it is good karma is they wait and it also shows respect for themselves, as we also see in the United States in many religions as well.
Back during the time of the Old Kingdom, the religious beliefs of the Egyptians were ones they did not question or go against. Everything they were told by their family members were the truth they believed and followed. They believed in the Divine Kingship which was a tradition associated with the Pharaoh, their King and a God. The Pharaoh was their source of power and belief, in addition to their priests which held huge amounts of power as well. This was the time of the Ancient Egypt religion where there were many gods during one time, polytheistic, and then a time where only one god existed, monotheism. If things weren't going well, the egyptians blamed the priests and the Pharaoh. This time during the Old Kingdom was when they heavily relied on the afterlife concept; they buried the deceased in tombs, known as mummification, to preserve their bodies and give their spirit a place to go. This photo below is of Khafra, a pharaoh which was found in Mit Rahina. Today, this can be seen in Cairo, Egypt in the Egyptian Museum.
"Egypt Culture and Traditions, Egyptian traditions." Egypt Travel Information | Egypt Trips | Tours to Egypt | Egyptian tours | Trip advisor | Travel deals | Egypt Travel advice. Web. 28 Dec. 2011.<http://www.ask-aladdin.com/culture1.htm>
