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Bismillah-iRahman-iRaheem

To learn the Arabic language is an act of worship that we Muslims should aspire to. Whenever we have the time and resources we should try to carry out this act in whatever amounts we can, for the pleasure of Allah. 

We have a discussion board for all related topics where you may put your comments and questions, at: 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arabic_in_cairo

This knowledge will, inshallah, give confidence to brothers and sisters to see Egypt as currently one of the most organised places to learn Arabic, and one that is open to anyone at any time. Many brothers and sisters have regularly come back from Egypt with good experiences, having learnt the language of this Deen at the schools mentioned.

We have put down some negative points below so that brothers and sisters know what to expect, and inshallah can help change things for others in future. We have heard things are improving somewhat, alhamdulillah, including at Fajr. Hence things may not be as bad as they once were (the text below refers to what used to happen). Continued efforts by brothers and sisters can make things even easier for prospective students out there.

Jazakallah khairun to all the brothers and sisters for their continued help, with their information and advice.

Arabic Schools

The number of schools offering the Arabic language geared towards classical Arabic (Fuss-ha) is increasing steadily, alhamdulillah. As of now (end of 2002) there are 4 that are getting to be "known" amongst foreign brothers and sisters, in Nasr City, Cairo. If you know of any more you can post them on the discussion board inshallah.

These are:
1) Al-Fajr ( www.fajr.com ), 
2) Al-Diwan ( www.aldiwancenter.com ),
3) Qortoba ( www.qortoba.com ),
4) Nile ( www.teachingarabic.com ).

(There are many more in Egypt and other places. You can find links in our Further Info section.)

The two main courses on offer are:
1) Al-Kitab Al-Assasi (by the League of Arab Countries organisation),
2) The Medina Course (from Medina University, Saudi Arabia).

The general consensus seems to be that Al-Kitab Al-Assasi will get you further in a fixed amount of time, focusing on speaking, reading and writing. The Medina course however is not a secular course and therefore of more interest to Muslims, but is more academic, and has more grammar very early on - so this is recommended for those in it for at least a year or so.

Class Types And Prices

The courses are generally broken into levels. Schools can charge per level taught or per hour. The popular and cheaper group classes are taught on a per level basis only - where they will charge say $80, and teach you all the material for your next level. If you pass the test at the end you go on to the next level, else you will have to repeat and pay again. Each level is taught in one session. A session is around 5 or 6 weeks long. Enrolling into a private class, and paying per hour usually means none of this applies to you, you can start when you want, and will complete a level at your own speed.

The schools all offer similar choices for class type. Most people will opt for the standard group class - where there may be between 1 (if nobody else enrolls for the same level as you at the same time) up to, in some schools, 12 to a class. This is the most popular and cheapest option, and it will allow you to meet other brothers or sisters. 

You may alternatively pay a lot more (e.g. $250 at Fajr - yes that's US dollars) opt for a private class at one of the schools. Whereby you have a tutor all to yourself. The prices vary between schools, but this way you will, inshallah, definitely learn more in a fixed amount of time than in any group class. These private classes can also be shared by up to 4 private students - thereby cutting down the cost.

There is also the option to get a private tutor (nothing to do with any of the schools usually) to come to your house and give lessons there. More brothers are turning to this option as it's cheaper and convenient.

So you have:

1) Group class (1-12 students) - cheap and popular, but maybe difficult to learn if too large
2) Private class (1-4 students) - expensive, but will learn faster
3) Private at home (1-... students) - convenient, but you will need to find the teachers

Remember these schools are run as businesses. Some of the people running these places are definitely in it for the money first and foremost, in addition to anything else. Some of these places blatantly take advantage of students, who can't speak the language and have turned up for the love of the Deen, and make as much money as possible out of them - this is not right - but one has to deal with these things for the sake of knowledge. Many brothers are shocked for the first one or two weeks with the nature of people they come across - rely on Allah, and inshallah He will make things easy. 

If you're used to living in India or Pakistan, then much of the way businesses and transactions are carried out in Egypt should be familiar. If you're not however, this will be an interesting experience. It is a place to learn not just Arabic, but also about the Ummah today.

Exact prices can be found from there respective websites, but the baseline for comparison is "US dollars per hour". Most charge around $2-$3 USD per hour, but this depends on what your class size is.

The classes are usually 2.5 hours a day, or if going private you can ask for 5 hours a day if you feel up to that amount of work (note it is intensive). These times include breaks of 15 to 20 minutes every 2.5 hours. Depending upon prayer times, your teacher and you, these break periods can get larger or smaller.

Getting a private tutor to come to your house works out cheaper than paying for one-to-one tuition at a school. The only issue with this is finding decent teachers. If you know brothers already following this option, and there are quite a few now, then it's easy, else start at a school initially, and explore your options from there. You can always switch to private tuition later on.

It's best not to pay up front for more than one session at a time (although some schools may offer discounts if you do) - you never know if you'll like the classes, and may wish to change things during your stay.

Class Size

The standard choice is to go in a group class, between 1 (if nobody else turns up - very unlikely for brothers) up to 12. With an average of about 6-8. The smaller the class size the more one can learn. You get less interruptions, more attention, and have time to ask questions.

For people wanting guaranteed smaller class sizes the schools offer "private" classes, where between 1 and 4 people can hire a teacher to themselves. If there is just one person who wishes to hire the teacher, then it is very expensive, but you will learn faster than in a group. Two persons can take one teacher, in which case the price goes down, and if 3 or 4 people take the private class the prices goes down further.

One of the biggest factors to how much you learn, is the teacher. Good ones set a lot of homework, while others set very little and do not check to see if you've done it. The more homework the better for you - in the long run you'll see the benefits for sure, inshallah. If you can, ask experienced brothers/sisters about names of recommended teachers and ask/insist on these before handing over your money for a session.

But no matter how good a teacher if the class size is too large, then you will learn less. Most brothers have suggested an absolute maximum of 4 or 5 to a class for you to be able to make use of the time.

One of the cheapest ways to get the maximum amount of teaching is to get a private tutor at home - but like we said this may be hard to do if you don't already know brothers/sisters out there. Brothers have recommended going to the schools initially, for the complete beginner, and suggest moving onto private tuition at home when some confidence is gained. This is because the schools have more resources set up at the outset, and later on you will be able to deal with locals/private teachers (language, costs, times etc) much better.

Timings

The schools work in sessions and levels. For example Fajr does a 5 week session, where if you're taking the normal group class you'll complete one level of Arabic, inshallah. There are about 11 levels total with Fajr. At the end of each session there is a week off. In Ramadan Fajr gives 2 weeks off. The classes are 6 days a week, with Friday off only. So it takes 6 weeks (5 weeks lessons, 1 week off) there to finish one level.

Diwan has the same course broken into 15 levels, they have added extra material of their own. They have 2 days off a week, and 6 days off during Ramadan. The extra days off during the week can be very useful to absorb the concepts if you're getting large amounts of homework.

When you finish the whole course you theoretically know arabic well enough to attempt teaching it. Some students approach the course with the idea of just "passing all the levels" - one has to really make a lot of extra effort to speak, read and write in order to be confident enough to teach at the end of the course. However it is possible inshallah.

The work is (or should be) intensive, with very little time to make it into a holiday. Wait either for the week between sessions (at Fajr) or the end of your time in Egypt to go sight seeing.

Check the websites, and confirm session dates with the institutes before turning up, to make sure you can utilise your time here to the fullest.

One of the worst thing schools do (we've seen this Fajr do this) is to say "Just turn up.... whenever...". If you turn up in the middle of an ongoing group session they will make you wait till the start of the next one. Else you will be offered the very lucrative choice (for them) of taking private lessons while you wait for the next group session to begin in 4 or 5 weeks. This usually happens to those people opting for the standard group session. 

If you are intending to go private the whole way, then you can more or less turn up whenever you want. But even for this we advise checking with the school to make sure they have teachers available. If the school's teachers are all booked you may either not be able to get lessons till some these are free later on, or the times available may be very inconvenient. Brothers and sisters have been made to wait weeks for the next session, wasting precious time and money like this.

Some schools are very bad at replying to emails. This is something typical of Egypt. Phoning them often gets better results, but be prepared for long waits, and no replies. And "vote with your money" - i.e. go to the school that responds the best to your enquiries - this will hopefully encourage schools to be more responsive to students (who are after all paying them), and not treat students as walking sources of money.

In terms of class times during the day, they vary depending upon when the schools can fit you in. If you get to the school early (a week or more before the session say) you can definitely ask for certain times for your class. You may or may not get this. The schools try and get as much out of their limited classrooms and teachers, hence times may range from a start of 7.30AM, up to a finish of 8.30PM (we've seen both). Remember normal classes are 2.5 hours long.

Classes in the morning are usually best - they interfere the least with your day. Remember in summer the heat is intense, so midday classes will be tiring since you will have traveled to school in the sun.

Seasons and Weather

During summer the temperatures get very high. Air conditioning is essential for most people. Remember, when looking for an apartment with air conditioning to see which rooms have the AC units - these should be the rooms you will use most.

Fans are ok for spring and autumn/fall, when it still gets warm but is pleasant enough. 

During winter the temperature at night gets pretty cold, and blankets are needed. During the days it can get windy, and locals wear jumpers and light jackets. The apartments are not built to keep heat in, and can get very cold after Fajr. Remember to look for water heaters/boilers in your bathrooms, for when you want to have showers in winter. Cheaper apartments may not have these - which is fine for summer, but otherwise you may end up having to buy a water heater for winter.

Apartments on the top floor usually get very hot during summer, and very cold during winter. Ground floor ones tend to stay cooler, but have less security, and tend to get more cockroaches and mosquitoes - although these really depend upon if the area you're in is clean or not. A middle floor is ideal, and to be honest in most normal areas you shouldn't have any real problems. Maybe just the odd cockroach now and then.

In summer is when the rents for apartments with ACs shoot up. An apartment costing say 1500 - 2000 LE normally, can go for 6000 LE or more in summer for a short term let, and it may not even be that nice. But if you look around with brothers who know the place/locals this sort of cost can easily be avoided.

Advice For Those With Limited Time And Money

A good choice for those wishing to get the most out of a short amount (say a few months) of time and wishing to meet brothers/sisters out here, is to turn up for the intensive courses on offer (one in summer, and one in winter at Fajr - although these are very expensive), where the work is very very intense. Then switch to group or private thereafter, for the remainder of your time.

Or, again if you can afford it, turn up whenever and just go for 1-to-1 tuition at a school (around $150-$250/session depending on school) or at home (maybe $100/session). This is probably the fastest way to cram in as much as possible at any time of the year, since you progress at your own speed. If you already know a few people out here and are not going to feel too lonely, this is definitely the best way to go for maximum knowledge.

When studying private (i.e. 1-to-1) you will cover material about twice the speed of those studying in a group. So you may be able to leave in half the time, thereby spending less on rent and food etc. Alternatively you can think of it as being able to do a lot more in the same time. 

A good mix is to initially go for a group class to meet brothers and sisters. Thereafter switch into private for faster progress.

To ascertain what level you will start at the schools give you a test. At Fajr (where most people end up going) this is unsatisfactory a lot of the time. If you can write "my name is.." in Arabic, for example, they push you into their level 1 class. There are many brothers who felt good at the outset with this, since they theoretically skipped a whole sessions worth of learning - most have said they regretted it afterwards. They said they found the later levels much harder than those who completed the first level (this is vocabulary, pronunciation, writing and basic grammar). They often could not understand the teachers (remember the teaching is done in Arabic only), and felt a lack of confidence for a long while. So be honest with yourself, and do not rely on the schools assessment as they're not really that bothered.

However, if you can get hold of the first level of Al-Kitab Al-Assassi before going, then it's quite possible to complete the first level thoroughly at home, with help from someone who knows basic Arabic. 

Make sure to turn up around a week before your classes start to be able to find a place and settle in.

You biggest expenses will be fees to the schools, rent and then possibly travel - if you have to use taxis every single day. Food is cheap, so are utilities like internet, gas, electricity and water.

Over long periods of time taxis become expensive, trams provide a very economic alternative - a point to remember when looking for an apartment.

Opinions on the schools are that Fajr is the largest (by largest we mean they have 4 flats as the school) and longest established. It's also one of the most expensive. It has some good teachers, but the administrators can be very unhelpful, and there are many rules there that are clearly wrong, and made for extracting as much money as possible. So you've got to be a bit tough with these guys. Fajr is located away from central Medinat Nasr, with few shops and services, and the area is pretty dusty. It is close to the tram line however. 

Fajr is still the most popular school for foreigners, and is improving somewhat, perhaps due to brothers and sisters having more options available, and learning from the experiences of others. If you don't have plenty of money, then we advise you to get as much help and advice as possible beforehand, and everything will be fine inshallah. If you do have plenty, well then... alhamdulillah, but please think of those who are not as fortunate as yourselves. We saw many new muslims from very poor backgrounds, who'd brought their wives and children, who were living in very basic conditions indeed. Taking advantage of them (or anyone else) off is not allowed under Islam.

Diwan is smaller, more informal, and there are some very good teachers there. The teachers are also the owners, so they can be more flexible there for class time, and the bureaucracy is not so bad as Fajr. The location of Diwan is fairly central to Medinat Nasr, so it's close to most amenities.

We have heard good things about Qortoba from brothers, and they have an open focus on Islamic Arabic, however it's strongly recommended that you go there for the long term - say 1 or 2 years. Qortoba is not close to the tram, so students will have to rely on taxis or walking.

Things To Be Aware Of

Like we mentioned before these places are run as businesses. Places like Fajr are becoming well known for the way they extract as much money from foreigners as possible. There are many incidents of how the people there take advantage of students. Sadly you have to be very careful with locals, as just assuming that they are all Muslim brothers and will not rip you off leads to you and your money parting company very quickly.

Most of the schools now offer a pickup service from the airport when you first land - this is useful if you are totally lost in foreign countries. You may be charged rates that are too high for what's on  offer, and we've seen brothers put up in a youth hostel for a night with this money. Fajr used to call a youth hostel a 3 star hotel, on their website, and charge you for a 3 star hotel - although this seems to have changed now. Possibly the Egyptian star ratings aren't the same as the internationally accepted ones? 

They also offer accommodation "services", which, when we last looked, was that they show you 2 or 3 flats and let you pick one. Again, this is useful for new students, and you may find it the easiest way to go. It is bad however, when the school knows you are at their mercy, and  takes advantage of this by making you pay a lot more than you should (nearly all the students at Fajr we talk to complain about Fajr's behavior with regards to this sort of activity - although some people are saying they are not so bad anymore - so it may they are improving inshallah). They will usually charge you more than they should (a monthly cut of your rent, in addition to the finders fee), but since it's a necessity for most students, you will have to probably take this option if you don't already know people out there. You will realise all this later, once you've settled down and discovered what the typical Egyptian earns in a month.

You will nearly always be paying well over the odds on these apartments/flats, and we have seen Fajr ask for a 10% commission every month for the entire duration of your stay, this is in addition to their original fee for showing you the place. So if you stay there a year, 10% of your rent every month is going to them, amounting to more than a whole month's rent.

Brothers have been shown places that are actually owned (rather conveniently) by people working at the school, and very high rents quoted in US dollars, far above the real prices. Others are offered flats that are sublet to students by the school staff (i.e. the staff get them from the owners for say 800 LE Egyptian, and charge students 2500 LE Egyptian a month). It is totally wrong to take advantage of musaffir Muslims, who not knowing the language are at the mercy of the locals, and expect the school to take care of them having already paid their substantial fees. Especially for places purporting to be Islamic in nature. 

They do not seem to care that many of the people attracted to the Deen and Arabic come from poorer backgrounds, sometimes being reverts/converts, and work hard to earn a living - we do not see too many millionaires forsake their homes, families and businesses to come to learn the Deen. We know of incidents where brothers, sisters and families have had to return after short periods of time, with their money running out due to being stolen from like this incessantly.

It is bad enough that many Egyptians attempt to rip you off every day, without the need for certain of these schools to become the worst scamsters there. This is made worse by the fact that often you do not even get what you've just been charged so much for. We mention Fajr specifically because many (and it is many) brothers and sisters complain about their actions, and many western students will end up there. May Allah have mercy on us all, and forgive us our transgressions.

In their favour, only some of these schools do offer accommodation services, Fajr being one, so this may be the only option open to some brothers and sisters initially. Similarly picking one up from the airport is a service some people may need, and at least it's on offer.

Another swindle, and we've only heard Fajr mentioned regularly with regards to this - but take this advice for any school, is that after the first class is over (whether or not you attended) they keep 25% of your entire session fees. After 2 classes they keep 50%, and after 3 classes they keep all of your money. If you find the class unacceptable (such as if there are too many students; we suggest 5 is the absolute maximum for a chance to learn normally) or the teacher is unsatisfactory, this is wrong. Sometimes students may even try to carry on and see if their initial feelings are correct (giving the school the benefit of the doubt), and thereby lose all their money.

This is a case of one having paid for a service and not receiving it. By class 3 you have lost all your money whether you will learn much for the next 6 weeks or not.

A decent school will let you attend the first class to judge if it is to your liking. If the service is not what you want - why should you pay so much? At the very least insist on knowing the class size, and who the teacher will be a few days before the class begins, and then ask other senior students on their opinions of these. If it sounds like that it isn't good, do not hand over your money, and complain to the staff, ask for a smaller or class, or a transfer to another teachers class. Failing that put the money towards a private class or something, or even switch schools - you can always switch back again if you feel like it. This way you won't waste over a month learning only half of what you should be learning - remember your time there is precious.

For those students on sponsorships, whereby an institution pays for their tuition fees, they should complain about anything they believe is not right with the service they receive to their sponsoring institution. We have seen this happen, and this is one occasion when the school responded rapidly. They cannot afford to upset these sponsorship deals they have going, as these are their biggest guaranteed money earners. 

It's sad that we needed to say this stuff, but it's true, and we hope these issues change (and it does seem they are changing for the better - albeit slowly), and may Allah forgive us all for our mistakes. May Allah also reward those brothers and sisters who speak up when they see such unfair transactions taking place, thereby making it easier for future students to learn Arabic.

Living In Cairo

There is a lot of stuff that needs to go here. If someone would like to write material for this section (or make additions to other sections) please forward it on to us - or post it on the board. Jazakallah Khair.

Help To Get Accomodation

Alhamdulillah, we have managed to get the contact number for a very trusted Egyptian brother in Medinat Nasr, who has helped many brothers and sisters get accomodation. Please see details in the Further Info section.

Visas

For UK passport holders it's cheaper to get a 1 month tourist visa upon arrival at Cairo airport, instead of one from the embassy in London. It was under 40LE. If you decide to stay, then you need to take a trip to the Mogamma building in central Cairo (in Midan Tahrir), which is a huge unmissable Kremlin style building. You can get up to a 1 year extension visa, which you can then again renew later if you need. The whole process is fairly straightforward, needing 2 photos and about 40LE again.

Brothers who have beards and dress in thobes/jalabiyyas may encounter long delays at the airport, Mogamma and other official places - with a lot of questioning etc. When dealing with officials speak English the whole time. This includes when getting pulled up by police on the roads. Cairo is the largest city in Africa, and there are absolutely all sorts of people there, so you need to establish that from the UK or wherever as quickly as possible.

By all means go to the UK consulate (near the Mogamma), and talk over any issues you may have there. They are there to help you (this is where your taxes have gone), and are friendly on the whole.

Money

One good thing about Egypt is that the exchange rates are fixed by the government. This is one of places where you might not get ripped off. You will find the exchange rates to be more or less the same, from the airport currency booths through to the exchange bureaus on the high streets. 

Note however, you may find it hard to exchange anything other than UK pounds or US dollars. It seems the Egyptians aren't really interested in other currencies that much.

Also when leaving you will find it very hard to exchange currency back into UK pounds within Egypt. Officially you may not carry more than 1000 LE out of the country in cash. This you can change into Sterling back in England (at airport exchanges, such as Heathrow).

You can pull money out of cash machines everywhere in Cairo, just as if you were here in England. They take Cirrus/Switch style direct debit cards, and Visa cards. Although there is a charge for this withdrawal (somewhere around 1-2% of the amount you withdraw). Most people use this method, and it is safe and convenient - just don't do it too often else the withdrawal charges will mount up. The exchange rate given with these withdrawals is, again, not too bad.

Masjids

The older masjids (from hundreds of years ago) tend to have graves in them unfortunately. This goes against the Sunnah, and is not allowed. Hence the safest masjids to pray in are the newer (often white concrete) ones. But alhamdulillah these are everywhere.

Do not start talking about politics or religion in a masjid (or anywhere public). You will get in really big trouble really fast. Egypt is a secular state. If people engage you in talk (and they will for whatever reason), stick to generalities. If someone starts asking for your address or phone number don't give it out, and take your leave quickly and politely. All places are watched for "trouble makers", so don't make the mistake of acting or talking like one - especially since you aren't one. Beards and thobes/jalabiyyas are ok, but we have found that brothers with these have been arrested on the streets and asked for passports on a regular basis. Like we mentioned before speak English when dealing with officials.

However many brothers (with beards as well) have never been stopped at all. So experiences vary depending upon a lot of factors, including your personal attitude. Be wise, and have trust in Allah.

It is best to buy a pair of cheap slippers (7LE) especially for going to the masjid in. Any expensive trainers / sports shoes will likely get stolen. Most masjids have a doorman who you can leave your shoes with, but you will have to pay him something on the way out. All masjids have shoe racks inside somewhere, so do not feel like you have to use the doorman, unless you're wearing expensive shoes.

Crime

There is very little violence or physical crime most of the time, alhamdulillah. Which is more than can be said for most of the cities we live in, in the west. Women can walk around alone safely at most times. Most women do tend to disappear indoors shortly after Maghrib, except for in the shopping areas, however. We did hear of one or two incidents, but these are very rare. The most rowdy places tend to be tourist spots where the locals are really aggressive about trying to get "baksheesh" or tips and bribes. Also bid'ah / shirk places (e.g. grave sites in masjids) tend to be filled with jahils who are very bad mannered - but what else do you expect? And old Cairo also seems to be full of people with few manners.

The main crimes you will encounter are the scams, lies and swindling that takes place everywhere.

We've been told that due to the Egyptians being a humorous bunch, and their love of telling jokes, that fights very rarely break out (fighting is not Islamic either) - so on the odd occasion you may see what seems to be two cherry red faced Egyptians gesticulating wildly at each other, this is in fact just their way of resolving minor disputes amongst friends! (It seems to be true - we saw very little evidence of violence on the streets, alhamdulillah).

Flats

An apartment will be your main expense. Take care to ensure it's close enough to amenities as well being convenient for you to get to the school. The tram is the cheapest and least stressful way to get to classes - but not all schools are located near the tram lines. Of course walking is even better. Failing these you are left with taxis - these can cause brothers/sisters the most amount of stress each day. The drivers are notorious for their cheating and melodramas, and for those unused to their two-faced lies, these people are often the most unpleasant encounter of the day.

A flat can cost between 800LE upwards. A nice one in a central location is around 1400LE. These costs can be split between students of course. You can ask the schools offering accommodation services to find you people to share with, or get in touch with brothers out there already. If you are naive you can easily find yourself being asked for much more in rent - so be aware of prices. Al-Dar is an online estate agents in central Medinat Nasr, but we do not advise going to them. Their prices are for foreign tourists, and you'll get the same place for a quarter of the price if you use other means to find the place.

If you're short on money you can move away from the center, towards Area 10 (Haya Ashra) which is a more run down area in general, but you can get flats there from 300LE. These don't have phones, and the surroundings may not be clean. Many of the poorer students from around the world live in this area.

If your flat is supposed to be furnished, as most are, make sure there is a water heater (it is rare not to have one of these - but make sure you check), as you will need one in winter. Also keep in mind that you will need blankets during winter, and again these are usually provided (but you may just buy your own if you are staying for a long period of time). The flats are designed for the summer, and so get very cold in winter. During the rest of the year a fan is enough, except for the summer months, when air conditioning is almost a definite requirement.

Internet

(For voltages and socket types see this site. Egypt uses 220v,50Hz,2 round pin electrical sockets, and RJ11 for telephone/modem jacks).

Internet is available for free for those with computers at home, with many ISPs pushing their toll free numbers. Just enter the number in your dial-up dialogue box, leaving the login and password empty, and you'll get a pretty decent connection. Remember the stuff is all monitored. We have experienced inept ISP workers stealing passwords for email accounts. If you have a yahoo account, click the "secure" option before typing in your login and password. This will help somewhat. It appears as an option on the login page, under the password box.

Here are some numbers to try for free Internet access, there are many more you can find yourself.
0707 7777
0777 0777
0777 0666

There are numerous internet cafes all over the place, in case you don't have a computer with you. They charge between 2-6LE an hour.

Telephone

Most flats will come with telephone lines. There is a low fixed monthly fee (somewhere around 20-30LE), which includes some local calls we think. You cannot make calls to mobiles or international numbers from these phones.

You can buy international dialing cards from Menatel (this company operates all the street pay phones), or Egypt Telecom. The Egypt Telecom card can be used from a home phone, and gets you more time than the Menatel card. The Menatel card can be used from street payphones. Both can be used for phoning abroad or mobiles.

Go to www.140online.com to see related information. You can also find out your phone bill from this site (it's Egypt Telecom). The bill is shown in your browser immediately, but the service is overloaded and may take many attempts to work.
You can bring your mobiles to Egypt if you want, and just buy a pay-as-you-go chip over here. Obviously texting or phoning home is expensive (we heard about 40 pence for a text message to the UK). Using a computer for internet chatting is definitely the way to go for talking cheaply with somebody in the UK - since the internet is more or less free.

General Bills

Electricity, gas, telephone and internet are all subsidised and very cheap. Food is generally very cheap, and alhamdulillah good. Air conditioning units will be your major electricity consumer during the summer (remember these things are rated in multiple kilowatts - equivalent to more than a couple of fridges). However since electricity is cheap this shouldn't normally be a problem.

Waste disposal is a problem in Egypt. You will see many places where people just dump rubbish on the streets - it's a shame many Muslim countries ignore cleanliness even when it is such a compulsory part of our Deen. It's not due to a lack of food or money either. Your bowab (door man for the building) may collect rubbish from your flat a few times a week for a fee (say 5LE a month), or in some areas a dustbin man will come and collect the rubbish for a similar fee.

The doormen (and their families) usually live behind the block of flats that you will be living in, and one is supposed to pay them between 10LE and 20LE (this is a good amount) a month. For this they are supposed to help out with small things - like carrying bags or repairs etc. Be careful not to get too friendly with the doorman (or his family), or with any locals, or else you may find them taking advantage of you and your flat. This seems to be a norm in Egypt. If locals feel you will not say anything, they will start abusing your hospitality and testing your patience to the limit. Best advice is never to get too friendly from the outset.

Food

Fresh food is plentiful and cheap. Fruit is seasonal, and they have nearly every type over the course of the year. From mangoes to pears, dates, sugar cane and other more exotic stuff. 

They have super markets with even more than what some super markets carry over here. Most areas will have at least one medium sized super market with all your typical requirements, including nearly all the western brands. Such as Nivea, Colgate, Kellogg's, Palmolive, Heinz etc. although these are expensive compared to local products.

The cheapest local ready to eat staples are fuul (mashed tasteless beans), kushari (macaroni, spaghetti, rice and lentils with tomato sauce), and falafel/tamiyyah (fried lentil, with salad and tahina sauce in a sandwich). These are all very cheap and filling. Whether you will like them is another matter. They also do half a spit chicken for around 7LE - but the taste isn't quite the same as you may be used to. This sort of food is found nearly everywhere.

If you can cook yourself you should have no problems, and will be able to enjoy the huge variety of fresh foods on offer. If you rely on ready made stuff, you'll have a limited range. Good, cheap ready made food is hard to find, and you need to ask for recommendations from people you know.

Medicine

Chemists are plentiful, alhamdulillah, with virtually all the brands that you are familiar with. There are decent doctors around, one just has to know of them (i.e. ask someone). There are no major diseases in Cairo that we were aware of, alhamdulillah, but make sure to ask your doctor before leaving the UK for the latest information. Remember there is no free medical treatment out there - you will have to pay for everything out of your own pocket.

The tap water is safe to drink, but has a very high chlorine content. Meaning it tastes like swimming pool water. Some brothers have said there are a impurities in the water, and if you're staying for a really long time maybe investing in a large water filter that attaches to a tap is worth it. They have cited one brother who developed gall stones after 6 years in Cairo, as an example. However, the vast majority of brothers and locals all drink the tap water, and have no problems with it.

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