Learn Egypt before you go

10 phrases to learn

In Egyptian Arabic. Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.

At the table

• Bread is used as a spoon: tear off a piece of eish baladi to scoop up beans, dips and stews from shared dishes.
• Tea is offered to every visitor, at home or even in an office. Egyptians sometimes call it 'wageb', the duty, and it is polite to accept.
• Lunch is the main meal, often eaten in the afternoon, and dinner is usually late and lighter. In summer, restaurants fill up after 10 pm.
• Portions are generous and your host will keep offering more. Leaving a lot of food is frowned upon, so take small helpings to start.
• During Ramadan, families break the fast together at sunset, and many people set up tables in the street to feed the poor and passers-by.

Local tips

Dishes to try

• Koshari (كشري): Often called Egypt's national dish: rice, small macaroni and brown lentils, topped with chickpeas, a garlicky tomato sauce and a heap of crispy fried onions. Everyone adds garlic vinegar and hot sauce to taste. Some restaurants sell nothing else.
• Ful medames (فول مدمس): Small brown fava beans cooked slowly until very soft, then mashed with olive oil, cumin, garlic and lemon. It is eaten at breakfast with bread, pickles and salad, and traditionally cooked in and served from a large metal pot. It is often called one of Egypt's national dishes.
• Ta'ameya (Egyptian falafel) (طعمية): Egypt's falafel, made from dried fava beans rather than chickpeas, with lots of parsley, coriander and dill, so it is bright green inside. The fritters are fried until crisp and tucked into bread with tahini sauce, tomatoes and rocket.
• Molokhia (ملوخية): A thick green soup made from finely chopped jute leaves cooked in chicken or rabbit stock, finished with garlic fried with ground coriander. It has a silky, slightly slippery texture, a little like okra, and is served with rice and chicken or bread.
• Fatta (فتة): Layers of crisp toasted bread and rice soaked in meat broth, topped with a garlic, vinegar and tomato sauce and pieces of boiled lamb or beef. It is made for special days: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, a first pregnancy, and for Coptic Christians, Christmas.
• Mahshi (محشي): Vegetables stuffed with rice mixed with tomato, herbs and spices, then simmered slowly in broth. Courgettes, peppers, aubergines and cabbage are all used, and stuffed vine leaves are called mahshi waraq enab.
• Hawawshi (حواوشي): Flat Egyptian bread stuffed with minced meat spiced with onions, pepper, parsley and sometimes chilli, then baked until the bread is crisp and the meat juicy. In Alexandria the meat is baked between two rounds of dough instead.
• Feteer meshaltet (فطير مشلتت): A large, flaky pastry of many paper-thin layers of dough brushed with ghee, baked until golden. It is eaten sweet with honey, molasses or jam, or savoury with cheese and olives, and is a traditional gift for guests and holidays.

Cities to see

• Cairo (capital): The Al-Azhar Mosque and Khan el-Khalili bazaar, The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square, Historic Cairo, a World Heritage Site.
• Alexandria: The Citadel of Qaitbay, The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Seafood by the sea.
• Giza: The Pyramids of Giza, The Great Sphinx, The Grand Egyptian Museum.
• Port Said: The northern entrance of the Suez Canal, Ferries between Africa and Asia, Old houses with grand balconies.
• Luxor: Karnak and Luxor Temple, The Valley of the Kings, Hot air balloon rides at sunrise.
• Aswan: Felucca trips on the Nile, The Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser, The Nubian Museum.

Landmarks and the city map are on the Egypt trip