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Originally posted by germanjulia:
hi!
i´m writing in this forum because i´m very interested in egyptian culture and because i have a little question for you guys. in march 2005 i went on holiday to egypt, to hurghada. it was very nice, i had never been to egypt before. your country totally impressed me and i would really like to return. but always when i was walking through the city, i saw these western tourists, from germany or britain for example. many of them, especially women, were wearing clothes that shew a lot of skin. they were actually dressed too "sexy" for an islamic country. and now i wonder if tourists are really welcome with the egyptian people, because what the tourists do doen´t show a lot of respect. so my question is: do the egyptians in cities like hurghada like all the tourists? or do they hate them? or are tourists accepted because they bring money into the country?
i would be happy about honest answers of you.
thank you!

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Egyptians know that differnet rules apply abroad but they are stunned by them, they think them so demeaning to women.

hi 7aya, thanks for your answer. i have now read "boobs all over hurghada". it is just what i was searching for.yeah, i liked egypt a lot.it´s so different from germany and the culture is very different, too! got a bit scared sometimes, but it was alright. everything was just very new to me.

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
hello akshar,
what you say is interesting! you say that you feel very feminine and sexy when you are wearing your "abaya". now i don´t exactly know what an abaya is (could you explain it to me?), but it´s surely something that covers the whole body. and there is the difference between the arabic and the western women: western girls only feel sexy if they SHOW naked skin.

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An abaya is the ladies version of the galabeya, an all in one garment the covers from head to toe and wrist.

BTW I am western, British in fact

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
hello akshar,
what you say is interesting! you say that you feel very feminine and sexy when you are wearing your "abaya". now i don´t exactly know what an abaya is (could you explain it to me?), but it´s surely something that covers the whole body. and there is the difference between the arabic and the western women: western girls only feel sexy if they SHOW naked skin.

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Hmmmm, I don't know if it's the *showing skin* part that makes them feel sexy as much as it is wearing something beautiful and dressy. Of course, current styles in the West show *everything*, but I went to my 20th high school reunion wearing a dress to below the knee with a shimmering gold/copper long-sleeved top. Not so much skin, but I felt good wearing it. Of course, I'm not built like a 19-year-old either.

I think men and women both look sexiest when dressed in fine, well-fitting materials, with, most importantly, something left to the imagination.

Oh, which means *no Speedos* on European men at the beaches! What's with this?????? Ew!

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
snoozin,
i agree with you. you don´t need to be half-naked to feel sexy. that´s right. but i´m not even 20 years old, and when i look at the girls in my age, i realise: none of them would find an abaya sexy and none of them would dress in an abaya when going out.

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No, that's true. Actually I find the fashions for teens a bit *too revealing.* I'm 38. Don't know if I'm showing my age, or if it's just inappropriate.

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
ooops, don´t get me wrong- i wouldn´t do that myself! but at least with many of my friends, legs just have to be shown at a party. that is seen as sexy here.

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Originally posted by RaniaMe:
And even in Cairo...When I used to go dancing at night, I was even shocked by the way some Egyptian girls were dressed!! And some of my Egyptian friends are less shy than me in showing some parts of their body. They don't give a **** to what guys in the street will tell them (the difference with me..)

[This message has been edited by RaniaMe (edited 27 August 2005).]

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quote:

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
ooops, don´t get me wrong- i wouldn´t do that myself! but at least with many of my friends, legs just have to be shown at a party. that is seen as sexy here.

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Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that at all! I was commenting more on my own aging process and how I am now seeing younger women as being *much, much trendier* than me. It's very American to say *if you've got it, flaunt it,* so I guess it wouldn't be any different in Europe. Here in the US, as I'm sure anywhere, there are different ways to show skin. One woman could pull it off and be the classiest woman you have ever met, while another could look like total trash. Does that make sense?

But I still believe a woman can *wow* the room, at a club, a dance, a dinner, whatever, wearing something gorgeous with a gorgeous smile.

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Originally posted by germanjulia:
wow, i didn´t know even some egyptian girls wear bikinis and g-strings!! i thought swimming etc. was forbidden for islamic girls. i also heard that some families kill their daughters when they run around like that! but i guess that´s not very often, is it?? so i reckon the "city- girls" (cairo...) are allowed to do more "western stuff"?

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It seems a lot of you are getting caught up in "how the people look"
It seems to be the general concensus that if the girl is young and pretty then flaunt it ........... this is saddly wrong ........ surely if the girl/woman is comfortable in her skin then she should be free to do as she pleases BUT NOT in a country whose culture and religious beliefs scorn such behaviour
Those who want or desire an all over tan .... or want to dress in skimpy clothes, then feel free do do so in a country where this is not an issue .........
This is all about RESPECT .

I am western and indeed have gone topless on a beach many times, but i have done this in countries where the I did not offend against a culture or religion (altough may have offended the odd individual who looked at me because i may not live up to their expectation of the "body beautiful", but "one man's meat is anothers poison" ....... we cannot please everyone ..)

So I ask all those who read this post and are thinking of going to Egypt (or any other Islamic country) Cover up out of RESPECT for the people of the country you are VISITING ..

Just another thought ........ to those so called free and easy people ..... if you were going to visit the Queen / President of your country I bet you would dress appropriately ....... you would do this out of RESPECT ....... do you get my drift?

Some responsibility should lie with the Government to enforce the nation's moral standard. Outlaw "unsuitable" dress codes and further, they should ensure that travel companies make prospective visitors aware of this (Would this affect the tourist industry?)

Indeed, some of these "naked" tourists may be simply ignorant to the cultural and religious values of Islamic countries and so do not realise their "disrespect"?

Egypt once regarded as being -> steeped in achient history; the "gateway" to the Middle East .............. could end up another IBIZA (I am ot slating Ibiza here, honestly, but Ibiza is IBIZA it doen't exactly have The Pyramids or The Sphinx or the wondrous corals to attract tourists!)

Regards ............

[This message has been edited by belly_dancer (edited 27 August 2005).]