How do Russians live in Egypt and why are they not friendly with each other?
In the last couple of decades, Egypt has become one of the most “Russian” countries in the Middle East. Compete with him can, perhaps, Turkey. The reason for this is the great popularity of holidays in Egypt among Russian tourists. Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are one of the most popular resorts.
The cheapness of rest in Egypt encourages many compatriots to travel there regularly enough, and some settle in this distant country for permanent residence. But, despite the fact that thousands of Russians live in Egypt, a full-fledged Russian diaspora in this country has not formed. There are several reasons for this.
First, the bulk of Russian citizens who moved to Egypt are women - the wives and friends of the Egyptians. When getting married, they strive to integrate as tightly as possible into Egyptian society, up to a complete change in their external image, habits, and behavior patterns. Former Russian women become Egyptians and, of course, no longer associate themselves with Russia. In addition, Egyptian society is characterized by extreme social polarization, and this inevitably affects the relations between yesterday's compatriots. The wife of a businessman or engineer has nothing to do in the company of the wife of a beach lifeguard or security guard.
The "Russian Egyptians" assimilate quickly and soon they are almost nothing to do with their homeland. Children who are born in mixed marriages grow up like Egyptians, not like Russians. From Russians, they have only a slightly lighter skin color than other peers. That's probably all that distinguishes people from mixed families living in Egypt from the rest of the Egyptian children. If their mothers yearn for something that is connected with Russia, it will be some household little things that in the modern world are not so difficult to order on the Internet. For example, in Egypt the cuisine is still very different and many Russians prefer to order some food in Russia. For example, there is a consistently high demand for sausages and pork sausages, which the vast majority of Egyptians do not eat for religious reasons.
In addition to the wives of the Egyptians, another group of Russians is also very numerous in Egypt - relatively wealthy pensioners who come to the shores of the Red and Mediterranean Seas for a measured life, cheap prices and a warm climate. Unlike Russian wives, they actively communicate with each other, and relate to Egyptian society “in parallel” - they do not oppose themselves to it, but they also do not try to integrate into it.
Unlike Goa or Bali, Egypt has far fewer young and active freelancers. Among them, rest, and especially permanent residence, is not popular in this Arab country. Whatever they say, but in India or Indonesia, the conditions are more suitable for this category of lovers of life abroad. Egypt was never destined to become a "paradise" for freelancers and free artists. Those of them who nevertheless ended up on the Red Sea coast see the country rather as a temporary place of residence and are completely not interested in establishing contacts either among themselves, or, especially, with the Egyptians themselves.
The growth of terrorist activity in the Middle East, the “Arab Spring”, and the war in Syria led to the fact that Egypt has pretty much lost popularity among tourists, and even more so among those Russians who viewed it before as a possible “new home” or even would be a permanent summer house. It became dangerous here. And this circumstance did not fail to affect the demand for permits, and the total number of Russians living in Egypt.
The cheapness of rest in Egypt encourages many compatriots to travel there regularly enough, and some settle in this distant country for permanent residence. But, despite the fact that thousands of Russians live in Egypt, a full-fledged Russian diaspora in this country has not formed. There are several reasons for this.
First, the bulk of Russian citizens who moved to Egypt are women - the wives and friends of the Egyptians. When getting married, they strive to integrate as tightly as possible into Egyptian society, up to a complete change in their external image, habits, and behavior patterns. Former Russian women become Egyptians and, of course, no longer associate themselves with Russia. In addition, Egyptian society is characterized by extreme social polarization, and this inevitably affects the relations between yesterday's compatriots. The wife of a businessman or engineer has nothing to do in the company of the wife of a beach lifeguard or security guard.
The "Russian Egyptians" assimilate quickly and soon they are almost nothing to do with their homeland. Children who are born in mixed marriages grow up like Egyptians, not like Russians. From Russians, they have only a slightly lighter skin color than other peers. That's probably all that distinguishes people from mixed families living in Egypt from the rest of the Egyptian children. If their mothers yearn for something that is connected with Russia, it will be some household little things that in the modern world are not so difficult to order on the Internet. For example, in Egypt the cuisine is still very different and many Russians prefer to order some food in Russia. For example, there is a consistently high demand for sausages and pork sausages, which the vast majority of Egyptians do not eat for religious reasons.
In addition to the wives of the Egyptians, another group of Russians is also very numerous in Egypt - relatively wealthy pensioners who come to the shores of the Red and Mediterranean Seas for a measured life, cheap prices and a warm climate. Unlike Russian wives, they actively communicate with each other, and relate to Egyptian society “in parallel” - they do not oppose themselves to it, but they also do not try to integrate into it.
Unlike Goa or Bali, Egypt has far fewer young and active freelancers. Among them, rest, and especially permanent residence, is not popular in this Arab country. Whatever they say, but in India or Indonesia, the conditions are more suitable for this category of lovers of life abroad. Egypt was never destined to become a "paradise" for freelancers and free artists. Those of them who nevertheless ended up on the Red Sea coast see the country rather as a temporary place of residence and are completely not interested in establishing contacts either among themselves, or, especially, with the Egyptians themselves.
The growth of terrorist activity in the Middle East, the “Arab Spring”, and the war in Syria led to the fact that Egypt has pretty much lost popularity among tourists, and even more so among those Russians who viewed it before as a possible “new home” or even would be a permanent summer house. It became dangerous here. And this circumstance did not fail to affect the demand for permits, and the total number of Russians living in Egypt.
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