Northern Africa
Video Chat with People from Egypt
Evenings in Egypt tend to run late, with cafés in Cairo and Alexandria lively well past midnight, especially in summer. Egypt uses Eastern European Time (UTC+2) and moves to summer time for part of the year, so a 10 PM chat in Cairo usually falls in the afternoon on the US East Coast and the evening across most of Europe. You might meet someone from Cairo or Giza, Alexandria on the Mediterranean, Luxor and Aswan in the south, or the Red Sea towns of Hurghada and Dahab.
Arabic is the official language, and Egyptian Arabic is widely understood across the Arab world thanks to decades of Egyptian films, TV and music. English is common in tourism and business, and some people also speak French or German. Football is a big topic, from the Al Ahly–Zamalek rivalry to the national team, and so is food: koshari, ful medames, ta'meya and molokhia. Music runs from classic Umm Kulthum to today's mahraganat, and travel talk covers Nile cruises, desert trips and diving in the Red Sea. Our Arabic phrase guide is a good starting point.
Egypt at a glance
| Flag | 🇪🇬 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Arab Republic of Egypt |
| Capital | Cairo |
| Region | Africa · Northern Africa |
| Official language | Arabic |
| Currency | Egyptian pound (£, EGP) |
| Calling code | +20 |
| Time zone | Eastern European Time (Africa/Cairo) |
How to say hello
A few words of Arabic make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic (Egyptian) | أهلاً وسهلاً | ahlan wa sahlan (AH-lan wa SAH-lan) | Hi! / Welcome! |
| Arabic (Egyptian) | إيه الأخبار؟ | eh el-akhbar (ay el-akh-BAAR) | What's new? / How's it going? |
| Arabic (Egyptian) | مساء الخير | masa' el-kheir (mah-SAA el-KHAYR) | Good evening |
| Arabic (Egyptian) | مساء النور | masa' en-nour (mah-SAA en-NOOR) | Good evening (the classic reply) |
Tips for chatting with people from Egypt
- Egyptian Arabic pronounces 'ج' as a hard 'g', so 'gamil' instead of 'jamil' (beautiful). If you learned standard Arabic, listen for switches like this.
- Answer 'Masa' el-kheir' with 'Masa' en-nour' (evening of light); it's a small touch people notice.
- Ask about street food. Koshari and ta'meya, Egypt's fava-bean falafel, come with strong opinions about the best spot.
- Al Ahly or Zamalek? Asking which club they follow is a lively first question for any football fan.
Only meet people from Egypt
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Egypt, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Egypt and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Egypt, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Egypt are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Egypt borders 4 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too: