posted
This may sound rather stupid...but are bad breath and body odour(including letting off wind from the backside) issues in men-women relations not only in Egypt, but pretty much most if not all of the Islmic world?
A long time ago, I spoke to a female Turkish co-worker concerning the passion for beans/lentils in the Middle East...and the rather unsociable results of such passion. Egyptians have this thing called Ful Medamis, yes? Well, being an obsessed freak for Middle Eastern and North African food, I love it as well. But...what about the smell afterwards? The Turkish girl above told me that the 'gas' as such was just a normal and acceptable part of life
Here's another one..I have heard many Westerners commenting on what they refered to as 'excessive'(?????) use of garlic, onions, and various spices in Middle Eastern cooking..'offending'(???)flavourings which supposedly come out of one's body and straight into the nostrils of the more supposedly civilized. Civilized??..hmmm....
Not showering, bad breath, gas, 'spicy' smell....can someone enlighten me on this? So far, I've smelled bad breath(not garlic, or spicy..just bad breath) only from one woman from Iran...but that's all I can remember for now..
Cheekyferret Member # 15263
posted
Strange question but in all honesty the Egyptians I know shower, use breath fresheners and don't fart openly.
The most disgusting I find folk get here is spitting in the street and out of car windows...
But, in general the people are know are clean.
Sometimes some taxi drivers hum a little but it 50 degree heat in a black car with no AC I am sure any of us would!!!
*Dalia* Member # 13012
posted
Looool!
I eat lentils and beans all the time (just had some lovely, spicy daal for lunch) and cook with garlic almost every day. I never suffer from flatulence, and I don't smell bad either.
Yes, garlic can be smelled on your breath after you eat it, and it also evoparates through your skin. But in a country where pretty much everyone is eating it, people won't notice. Now if I had a meeting with a client in Germany, for example, I would avoid eating garlic the day before. In Egypt, no problem.
tina kamal Member # 13845
posted
when my breath starts kickin i use act mouth wash it tasts good and smells good too.but ooo dont get me started on farting cas i will do it infront of almost anyone. when me and my bf go to walmart i always fart and leave him standing in the isle and people think thats one nasty mexican...girls i am nasty and evil like that.
Tigerlily Member # 3567
posted
quote:Originally posted by tina kamal: when me and my bf go to walmart i always fart and leave him standing in the isle and people think thats one nasty mexican...girls i am nasty and evil like that.
Good lord, Tina, I will never ever go shopping with you!!!
ourluxor Member # 15101
posted
Civilized??..hmmm....
I do believe that causing deliberate offence must be classed as being "uncivilised". Therefore, mixing in close contact with others, whom you know to find the smell of garlic particularly disgusting, could surely not be a civilised action? As far as Westerners go, the French used to be known for consuming this most horrid of God's creations, but with the ever shrinking world and the all encompassing E.U. those of us with this aversion to excess garlic are now in a minority, or so it would seem. I once bought a "Traditional" Lancashire Hot-Pot in Tesco, rushed home to stick it in the oven because I was starving hungry, only for my nostrils to be assailed after a few minutes as the ghastly ingredient let itself be known. In a Lancashire hot-pot??? As Victor Meldrew would no doubt exclaim, "I don't beliiieve it!" As for Egyptians; I can honestly say that I've never come across one with recognisable "B.O." I have been assaulted on many occasions by the strong whiff of the dreaded stuff, but not "bad breath" as one would recognise that in England. Personal smells were once a racial (or at least a geographical) trait, because of a particular diet mainly, but with so much travel and intermingling of the races (and swapping of foodstuffs) this seems to be no longer the case, in general.
*Dalia* Member # 13012
posted
quote:Originally posted by ourluxor: As far as Westerners go, the French used to be known for consuming this most horrid of God's creations, but with the ever shrinking world and the all encompassing E.U. those of us with this aversion to excess garlic are now in a minority, or so it would seem.
Not only the French. Garlic is traditionally consumed in the Mediterranean countries, such as Italy, Spain and Greece. It was also very popular among the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Mo Ning Min E Member # 681
posted
Apparently spitting in the street was once banned in the UK [ still is I think] on the grounds that it spreads TB. I use this information to try to discourage my Egyptian friends from accepting this as normal. I doubt it's actually clinically proven BTW.
And most Egyptians I've met met smell pretty good.I like that men use perfume as a norm.
SherryBlueBerry Member # 13867
posted
When I was in Egypt I smelled some people who had a very different smell...I wouldn't call it offensive but strong maybe. There are people here in the USA who smell as if they ate a piece of doodoo..and will talk right into your face...yuk.
As for passing gas..oh my gosh..that is a definite no no for me..I even hate to use a public toilet for fear I will pass some and people will laugh!
That was something else I learned from my friend in Egypt. He said belching, passing gas and nose picking in public were not acceptable..at least in his family. Thank God...I would have hated to be sitting next to a master farter while watching tv!
tina kamal Member # 13845
posted
quote:Originally posted by Tigerlily:
quote:Originally posted by tina kamal: when me and my bf go to walmart i always fart and leave him standing in the isle and people think thats one nasty mexican...girls i am nasty and evil like that.
Good lord, Tina, I will never ever go shopping with you!!!
lolol very few do go with me..
MrMoussaka Member # 17647
posted
.... ..Ok, to be fair, I actually came across more Lebanese and Greeks(especially) who were gifted with this 'fragrance' I had spoken of, here DownUnder(Australia). I haven't come across any with gas problems, but B.O. was an issue with several individual cases...
ExptinCAI Member # 1439
posted
cut your garlic in half and remove the green bit in the middle. that's what gives you bad breath ;-)
metinoot Member # 17031
posted
I had a manager who was full Neopolitan Italian raised in wales.
He smelled and walked like something missing, like he'd become something alien.
Worse he had spent 16 years in the Netherlands so that just made his freakishness worse.
posted ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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..Ok, to be fair, I actually came across more Lebanese and Greeks(especially) who were gifted with this 'fragrance' I had spoken of, here DownUnder(Australia). I haven't come across any with gas problems, but B.O. was an issue with several individual cases...