Egypt population and domestic life

Domestic life.

Although most households now are organized around a nuclear family, there are some extended family households.

Marriage was historically patrilocal (brides moved to the household of the husband), though in cities the young couple often establishes a new residence, at least after a couple of years. Even when residence is not shared, extensive kin ties are maintained through frequent family gatherings.

Authority tends to be patriarchal, with the senior male in the household generally given the last word and otherwise expecting deference. Wives, for instance, often are reluctant to assert that they have any serious independent power to make decisions.

Couisine and eating.

Eating is an important social activity, and is central to marking special events and ceremonial occasions.The most important food item in daily life is the bread loaf. In rural areas, bread is usually baked by women in mud ovens at home. In cities, bread is sold in bakeries. The standard loaf is strictly regulated by the government in terms of weight and price, and is one of the very few items that still receives a state subsidy.The indigenous cuisine relies heavily on legumes.

The main national dish is foul . This is a dish of fava beans cooked slowly over low heat and seasoned with salt, lemon, cumin, and oil. It is usually eaten for breakfast. Another common dish is tamiyya or falafel which is made from crushed fava beans mixed with onions and leeks and fried in oil. Also popular is koshari , a mixture of rice, black lentils, and macaroni covered with tomato sauce and garnished with fried onions. These dishes are prepared at home, but are also sold in stalls all over Cairo.

Child rearing.

In all parts of Egypt and among all social classes, having children is considered the greatest blessing of all.

Caring for children is primarily the women's responsibility. Many Egyptian women (both Copt and Muslim) abide by the Koranic directive to breast feed children for two years.

Grandparents and other members of the extended family play an active role in bringing up children.There is a general preference for boys over girls, although in infancy and early childhood children of both sexes are treated with equal love and care.

Education.

The preference to have at least one son is related to the desire to have an heir, and so provide continuity from father to son.

Education is highly valued in Egypt, and families invest a lot in that area. Even low-income families try to educate their children as much as possible. Education, especially having a university degree, is considered an important avenue for social mobility. But many families cannot afford to educate their children beyond the elementary level. In addition, many children have to work at an early age to help support their families.

Egyptian traditional food koushari_Travel Egypt Tours

population and domestic life

The population of Egypt is relatively homogeneous.

The overwhelming majority (over 90 percent) are Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims. About 10 percent are Christians, who are indistinguishable in other respects from the Muslims. Most of the Christians belong to the Coptic Church, the historic church of Egypt, but minorities within the minority are Catholic or Protestant, or derive from the churches of the Levant (Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic).

There are a few small linguistic minorities, of which the largest is the Nubians, who speak two Nubian languages (Kenuz and Mahas) related to the Nilo-Saharan languages of the Sudan. They represent less than 1 percent of Egypt's population, and are concentrated around Aswan.

Other linguistic minorities include a few thousand Berber speakers in Siwa oasis, the easternmost outpost of Berber speech, and the small population of Beja (Ababda and Bisharin) in the eastern desert east of Aswan. All these groups are Muslim.

There are also urban linguistic enclaves of Armenians, Greeks, Italians, and others.

Another urban enclave was the Jews, now largely emigrated, who spoke either Arabic or various European languages. The urban minorities were much larger before the middle of the twentieth century.About 96 percent of Egypt's population lives in the Nile Valley, which comprises about 4 percent of the area of the country; most of the economic and social activity occurs there.

The rest of the country is desert. This includes the scrub desert along the Mediterranean coast between the Nile Delta and Libya, and along the north coast of the Sinai Peninsula; the mountainous desert between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea; and the western desert west of the Nile Valley. Rainfall in these areas is rare to nonexistent.

Egypt there is an enormous gap between the very wealthy and the very poor. The culture also encourages deference of the weak, poor, or subaltern to the rich and powerful, in terms of speech, posture, and acquiescence.

The differences among individuals and families in Egypt can be represented by income level or source of income. They can also be represented in choices of consumption style—housing, transport, dress, language, education, music, and the like.

Marriage negotiations bring all these differences of taste and income to the forefront.

What is less evident in Egypt is a strong class consciousness that might turn potential classes into real ones.