Culture
Culture and etiquette in Egypt
The short answer
Dress modestly away from the beach, ask before you photograph anyone, and take your lead from the people around you during Ramadan and at religious sites. Most etiquette in Egypt is ordinary courtesy. The parts with legal weight are photography, drones, alcohol and public behaviour, and those are worth reading properly.
What to wear
The Foreign Office’s advice is to dress modestly, especially in rural areas, mosques and souqs. In practice that means shoulders and knees covered for men and women in towns, markets and villages, and a scarf to hand for women visiting a mosque. Beach resorts and hotel pools are more relaxed; what is normal by the pool is not normal on the street outside.
Loose, light fabrics that cover you are also the coolest thing to wear on an open temple site, so modest dress and comfort rarely pull in different directions. The packing list has the detail.
Official government advice
Photography: the official rules
Egypt’s cabinet allows personal, non-commercial photography in public places free of charge and without a permit, with ordinary, digital and video cameras. The same decision sets limits:
- A permit is needed for professional photography umbrellas, artificial outdoor lighting and any equipment that occupies or blocks a public road.
- Photographing children is prohibited, and Egyptian citizens may be photographed only with their written permission. In everyday terms: always ask first, and accept a no.
- It is prohibited to take or share photographs that could damage the country’s image.
- Experience Egypt adds that photography without a permit is prohibited at ministries, government facilities, police stations, and buildings and sites belonging to the armed forces and other security authorities.
- Drones need a government permit. The Foreign Office says not to import or use one without prior permission from the Egyptian Ministry of Defence.
Sources: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities · Experience Egypt · UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Cameras at museums and archaeological sites
Individual museums, tombs and sites set their own rules on cameras, tripods, flash and photography tickets, and they change. Check the official listing for the venue shortly before your visit, follow the signs on the day, and ask your guide before you lift a camera inside a tomb.
Ramadan, Fridays and religious sites
During Ramadan the Foreign Office advises against eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight. Hotels and many tourist restaurants continue to serve, but opening hours for sites and shops can shift and the roads fill before sunset, so check times for your dates. Ramadan moves about eleven days earlier each year.
Friday is the main day of congregational prayer, and some shops and offices close or open late around midday. At a mosque or church, dress as above, take off your shoes where others do, keep your voice down and do not walk in front of people who are praying.
Official government advice
Alcohol and public behaviour
The Foreign Office says drinking alcohol anywhere other than a licensed restaurant or bar is illegal, and that couples showing physical affection in public is frowned upon. For LGBT+ travellers the legal and social picture is more serious than etiquette; it is covered in the safety guide.
EgyptMore editorial guidance
Hospitality, and how to decline it
Karam, generosity, is a real value here. A shopkeeper may offer tea and a stranger may walk you to the right street, often with nothing expected in return. Accepting a glass of tea commits you to nothing, and a short, friendly conversation is the polite response.
Around major sites the same gestures are sometimes the start of a sale. You are allowed to tell the difference. A smile, “la, shukran”, and carrying on walking is both polite and clear. If a service is offered as a gift and you would rather not pay for it later, decline it at the start.
EgyptMore editorial guidance
What this means in practice
- Pack clothes that cover shoulders and knees for every day that is not a beach day.
- Leave the drone at home unless you hold written permission before you travel.
- Ask before photographing people, and never photograph children, police, military or government buildings.
- If your dates fall in Ramadan, re-check opening hours and plan to be off the road in the hour before sunset.
- Drink in licensed hotels, restaurants and bars, not on the street or the beach outside them.
Sources
Open the source behind a claim and check it against your own dates, passport, health and route. Rules, prices and schedules can change after our check.
Time-sensitive facts last checked against these sources:
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities: Official public photography rules
Government rules for personal photography, people, children, and professional equipment.
- Experience Egypt: Official practical information
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities portal for transport, useful numbers, and visitor information.
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Egypt: safety and security
Crime, harassment, local laws, photography and drones, and road, rail and water transport risks.