Chapter 1163 Customs Issues

Xiaojiaobu... Fan Maobing frowned. The thought in his mind was just like that of Wen Bian'er, "What does it matter? How could they notice his arrival?"

According to people from the embassy, ​​appointments with government officials, heads of companies and enterprises, or home visits to friends in Egypt must all be made in advance, and it is not advisable to be an uninvited guest. But I decided to visit due to special circumstances. The hospitable Egyptians are not as offended as Westerners, and they will always welcome you with a smile.

All working meetings are held in the office. Except for senior officials, no one treats you as a distinguished guest and sends someone to wait at the door to take you to the reception room. The people you meet often talk to you while working, but for example, if a subordinate sends you a document that needs to be signed, or if you call for a few minutes to talk on the phone, you will be left alone and ignored. If you encounter this a few times, you will gradually get used to this kind of Egyptian meeting.

But obviously, it was a bit surprising that people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited Fan Wubing rashly.

Despite this, Fan Wubing agreed to let the other party in, and people from the embassy also accompanied him to avoid any obstacles in communication between the two parties, or due to differences in customs and habits. What misunderstanding occurred.

Egyptians have many habits, and most Muslims do. They believe that the right is better than the left, and the right is auspicious. You should start with your right hand and right foot when doing things. You must use your right hand when shaking hands, eating, and delivering things. Put on your right sleeve first when getting dressed, and put on your right foot first when putting on shoes. Step right foot first when entering homes and mosques.

The reason is that Mu Qilin uses his left hand when "convenience" and doing dirty work, so the left hand is considered unclean. It is extremely impolite and even considered insulting to shake hands with others or hand things over with the left hand.

There are also some taboos on clothing. For example, according to Islamic teachings, a woman's "charming features" cannot be seen by anyone other than her husband. Even people of the same sex should not look at each other's private parts. Therefore, short, thin, revealing, and revealing clothing is prohibited. Even a baby's body should not be left uncovered, and there were no public baths in the streets.

In Egypt. There were no bare-chested or short-skirted women, and no men in tank tops and shorts.

Although Egyptians are tolerant of foreigners. Not as strict as some Islamic countries. But one thing that must be reminded is that wearing tank tops, shorts and short skirts to mosques is strictly prohibited in Egypt.

Another interesting thing is not to yawn. Usually, try not to yawn or sneeze in front of Egyptians. If you really can't control it, you should turn your face, cover your mouth, and say "I'm sorry."

The Egyptians hated yawning and believed that yawning was the work of the devil. When a person yawns, he hurriedly says, "Please Allah forgive me" as if he has committed a crime. And sneezing is not necessarily considered a bad thing. If a person sneezes in front of others, he should say this. "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." The person next to him said.

“Allah has mercy on you,” he would go on to say, “Allah has mercy on me and everyone.”

Egypt is a world-famous ancient civilization. It strictly abides by Islamic rules on diet. During Ramadan, it fasts during the day and does not eat any taboo foods. It also does not eat red juice and undercooked vegetables. It does not talk to others when eating, and it does not drink alcohol. It is forbidden to make any noise when hot soup and drinks are being made, food cannot be taken out after entering the mouth, and it is taboo to touch utensils and food with your left hand.

Egyptians like to hold big banquets when they hold wedding events. In addition to inviting distinguished guests, relatives and friends, some people who usually have little contact with the host can also come and receive warm hospitality. It is customary to put chocolates and fruits on the table first, then recite the Quran, eat steamed buns in broth, rice and boiled meat, and finally serve snacks and snacks.

When Egyptians treat guests, they also pay attention to status and rank when sitting at a table. The host is also accustomed to using oaths to persuade guests to eat more, and is very enthusiastic from beginning to end. The more dishes, the better. Even if they are brought up and down unchanged, the guests and hosts will be very happy. Because this is one of the signs of generous hospitality.

Friends are extremely warm when meeting each other, usually. When meeting someone you don't know well, the person who greets you first will say the greeting commonly used by Muslims all over the world - "Anselam al-Qom" which means "peace be upon you" and means "hello". If you are an old friend, especially if you meet again after a long absence. Then hug each other and perform a kissing salute, that is, use your right hand to hold the other person's left shoulder, and your left hand to hug the other person's waist, first left and then right, one or more times each, and a string of greetings will be spoken like a barrage.

If you come to visit a friend, the host will repeat it one or more times, "Ahlan Usehran Umar Ha Ban", which means "You are meeting relatives, you are walking on the plains, and you are welcome." Sometimes it's simply, "Ahram! Ahram!"

Out of politeness or to show affection, women tend to use gentle cheek-to-cheek gestures, usually first on the right side and then on the left side.

People of the opposite sex usually shake hands, and only relatives kiss each other. There is no need to shake hands between men and women. Men should not take the initiative to extend their hands, and they should not cross each other when shaking hands, that is, four people face each other in a "cross" shape. Men must stand up from their seats when shaking hands, but women do not and can remain seated.

Another point is that Egyptians do not taboo foreigners visiting their homes and even welcome foreigners’ visits. And be proud of it. However, visiting the opposite sex is prohibited. Even among Egyptians, male and female classmates and colleagues cannot visit each other.

Except for the poor, Egyptians have living rooms in their homes. Bedrooms are private rooms and no outsiders are welcome.

Although the people from the embassy and Lu Qingtong introduced Fan Wubing a lot about Egypt. However, when officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the other party arrived, they contacted Fan Wubing very enthusiastically with Western etiquette and extended greetings in quite pure English.

Fan Wubing's English level is still acceptable. He smiled and exchanged greetings with him, and then asked the guests to sit down. And entertained him with domestic tea.

The other party was an assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He first expressed a warm welcome to Fan Wubing on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President, and then carefully asked whether Mr. Fan could participate in an event organized by the government, or whether he was interested in it. How many big projects are there in Egypt?

Fan Wubing also said sincerely that Fan Investment Group already has the intention to invest in Egypt. Soon a special inspection team will come to Egypt to discuss this matter. This time he is in Cairo as a private trip, but he feels the traditional friendship between the two countries and is willing to donate one million US dollars to improve the local school environment. .

The assistant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed high praise and gratitude for Fan Wubing's generosity, and then very kindly proposed that the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could help Fan Wubing during his stay in Cairo so that he could enjoy a religious visit. Beautiful Cairo! OK. Fan Wubing expressed his gratitude for the other party's hospitality, but he also said that he didn't have much time. It's just the focus of visiting a few scenic spots, and we have to rush to various countries in Africa, so I can only accept the other party's kindness. If there is a chance, I will definitely bother him well next time.

After seeing off the other party, the embassy staff explained to Fan Wubing, "Egypt's economy has always been half-dead. Although the EU and the United States have forgiven their debts of more than 20 billion US dollars in recent years, because In the past, too much investment in armaments, as well as the impact of several Middle East wars, Egypt's economic situation is not good. In addition, this area is not suitable for farming, so most crops are dependent on imports. Although crude oil There are some. But the mining capacity is not high, and the same is true in other aspects. So this time, Mr. Fan, they are still interested in attracting investment.

When Fan Wubing heard this, he shook his head and said, "I don't think that may be the case."

If you really want to attract investment. At least the president should come to greet him personally. And it would be reasonable to hold a grand banquet to welcome him, and send an assistant minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk about the matter. Isn't this disgusting?

Fan Wubing's treatment in the country is also at the ministerial level. According to the size of a small country like Egypt, it is somewhat unreasonable to send the foreign minister to come out for talks, let alone a deputy?

Feeling this, Fan Wubing naturally has no good impression of the current government, let alone investing in it?

In the final analysis, this is still a question of respect or lack of respect. Men. Live life outside. There is always a matter of face, especially when Lu Qingtong is brought out for the first time to open his eyes, Fan Wubing naturally cannot lower his worth too much.

"When I visited Southeast Asia before, I was received personally by kings or presidents." When talking about this matter, Fan Wubing said to Lu Qingtong. After finishing speaking, he still felt a little unfinished, so he said to Lu Qingtong again. One sentence. "When you return from Africa, I will take a trip to Indonesia and let you meet their president. Well, he is a very enthusiastic person.

6 Although Qingtong had no idea about this, after hearing what Fan Wubing said, it seemed that the presidents of Indonesia were all Fan Wubing's younger brothers, he couldn't help but be curious and asked about it carefully. Only then did we know the power of Fan Investment Group in Indonesia. And when Habibie came to power, what Fan Wubing did in Indonesia suddenly became clear.

In the final analysis, it is still a matter of interest. Precisely because Fan Wubing lent the Indonesian government US$50 billion, has a large amount of investment in Indonesia, and also controls some very critical paramilitary forces, Habibie needs to borrow. the power of. That’s why we can get Habibie’s VIP treatment. It is equivalent to Da Guoyuan.

In a small and poor country like Egypt, Fan Investment Group has no business dealings and no interests, so even though Egypt also hopes to attract investment from Fan Investment Group. But the hopes were not very high. Therefore, the scale of the reception only stayed at the ministerial level.

It should be said that this is not a lack of attention. After all, Fan Wubing came to Egypt just as a way and had no intention of officially visiting. Therefore, the other party sent an assistant to the chief to express their friendship, which was considered a good thing.

The mistake was that they did not understand the thoughts of their own people and underestimated Fan Wubing's huge influence. If the attitude could be more correct, the visitor's level could be higher, the attitude could be more enthusiastic, and the hospitality could be more considerate, that would be the case. Fan Wubing was out of favor, so he had to ask Li Xuan to promise to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Egypt. Or if there were appropriate projects, he might be able to take larger measures.

It's a pity, it's really a pity.

Fan Wubing was somewhat interested in the lives of ordinary people in Egypt, so he joined Lu Qingtong. I took a few bodyguards with me, and under the guidance of the embassy staff, I went to the streets to walk around, and sure enough. The place felt a bit messy to him, a bit like the domestic market in the 1980s.

Fan Wubing and others were walking around in an art shop. When they were watching and playing with the handicrafts, they suddenly found that the owner of the shop hurriedly covered part of the counter. What was the intention?

"Oh, there must be a needle in that counter." When the embassy staff heard Fan Wubing's question, they immediately answered.

"There is a needle? What does that mean?" Fan Wubing didn't understand what it meant.

So the staff of the embassy explained it to Fan Wubing. After listening, everyone suddenly realized that this was the case.

Needles are tools for sewing clothes. They are almost a must-have daily necessities for every family, but in the minds of Egyptians, they are a bit mysterious.

From 3 to 5 pm every day, Egyptians never sell needles. This has become an unwritten rule in their lives.

According to legend, at this time every day. Gods come down to earth to give people some necessities of life. But the gods have to personally experience people's respective situations. The richer the person, the more rewards they will get; the poorer the person, the smaller the rewards they will get. The poor always thread needles and mend things all day long. In order to make the poor get more rewards and avoid lifelong hardship, people never sell needles at this time.

Under the influence of this myth, some Egyptians dare not do needlework even at night. Otherwise, they think it will bring disaster to their mothers. Some women in rural areas also regard borrowing needles as a taboo. When they have to borrow, the lender has to put the needle in the bread and hand it to the borrower, and the borrower dare not take the needle out in front of him.

Needle sometimes becomes a colloquialism for some women to curse each other. If a woman is called a needle, she will feel as if she has suffered a great humiliation and is in great pain.

Today, needles still have a unique and legendary status in the minds of Egyptians, and the taboo on needles has been passed down and become a folk custom in Egypt.

"Every place has its own customs. It is true that you don't know until you see it. The world is really wonderful." Fan Wubing couldn't help but think of the lines in the CCTV column Zhengda Variety Show. "One