Unmatched Hospitality

I've been told that travellers are considered to be like orphans, in need of extra care and shelter.

Just a few weeks ago, when the revolution here in Egypt was just getting underway, there was an evening when we found ourselves on the streets after curfew and needed a place nearby to stay. A woman who was a "friend of a friend" took us in. All NINE of us, complete strangers. And treated us as if we were family.

The expression "A friend in need is a friend indeed" can easily be changed here in Egypt to: "A stranger in need is family indeed."

Now, crisis situations do have the tendency to pull people together, but this sort of hospitality is not just limited to emergencies in Egypt; it is the norm.

This sort of welcoming environment makes it easy for foreigners to quickly call Egypt Home.