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Advice for Families

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Going to Egypt with your spouse and children to learn Quran and Arabic is an excellent way of developing your faith and relationships within the family. Even if your children don’t learn that much, seeing their parents seeking knowledge will inshaAllaah be a good example for them to hold on to later in their lives. Unless the parents are planning on working in Egypt, it is likely that you will spend more time with each other which should help to develop a closeness that is sometimes difficult in the normal rat race culture. Although going with the family will present challenges, we should remember that the reward is often proportionate to the difficulty we face. Many families are only able to go for the summer holidays because parents don’t want to take their children out of school or because they cannot take more time off from work. Even these four to six weeks in the summer can be really beneficial in terms of improving one’s tajweed, Arabic and memorization of Quran.

Internet, Telephone and Mobile

In this post, I will try to outline the process of setting up home internet access, a landline and your mobile phone. Mobile phone: You need your passport to purchase a SIM card. Your phone will also need to be unlocked, so keep that in mind before you bring a locked phone to Egypt. The best place is to buy the SIM immediately after landing. You can do this after collecting your bags and before exiting the airport terminal. Bear in mind that there is a tax on all goods, so if you are charged 114 LE for 100 LE of credit, don't be alarmed. You have the option of 4 operators.  Vodafone Etisalat Orange WE - government operated I have found Vodafone to have the best overall network reliability (from cities to villages, VF had the strongest signal in my experience). I haven't tested WE, so can't comment on it.  If you need a package with minutes, texts and mobile data, then you can look at the postpaid plans on offer. Flex is another alternative - detai

Overheads

After several requests from fellows students and people hopeful of studying in Cairo we have decided to write up a post discussing expenditure and costs of life in Egypt for a student. Each individual situation depends on their lifestyle and is unique therefore it may be difficult to provide a complete accurate figure of ones expected monthly expenditures. However we will attempt to provide a simple breakdown based on our own experiences, through which others can come up with an estimate of their own. There are several costs one must take into consideration when planning their trip to Cairo. We will attempt to breakdown each one individually and then provide a monthly total. We will provide the price in Egyptian pounds and then in sterling when calculating the totals. Calculations are based on the current exchange rate of 23.7egp per 1 sterling. Please check the sidebar if you’re on a PC or the menu if you’re on a mobile device for a live currency calculator! An important poi

Qur'aan in Cairo

Learning and memorising the Qur'an in Cairo Having produced some of the greatest Qur'an reciters off the last century, from the likes of Mahmood Khalil al-Hosary, Mohammed al-Minshawi and Abdul Basit Abdus Samad, just to name a few, Egypt is without doubt one of the best places in the world to learn the Holy Qur'an. Whether you want to memorise the word of Allah, perfect your tajweed or gain an Ijaazah in the various narrations and styles of recitation, you can find something suited to you in Egypt and Cairo in particular. We will use this blog post to highlight the various Qur'anic centres and places of learning in Cairo for those interested in travelling to Egypt to study and memorise the Qur'an. For someone who wants to memorise the Qur'an there are many institutes at which they can do so. Through full time studies, memorising the Qur'an takes 2-3 years on average. However it can be completed in more time or less, depending on the students’

Cash or card?

Most students bring foreign currency - pounds Sterling or US dollars for example - with them when travelling to Egypt. This is a good way to evade issues with using plastic as this isn't as widespread in Egypt. At local stores and markets, they will laugh if you ask to pay by card; In Egypt, cash is king. However, someone who didn't bring enough cash to last their entire stay, ran out, or it simply wasn't feasible for them to bring a larger amount to cover their stay will need an alternative. It is possible to use cards to get by. Anyone can send money to that account and you can then use it abroad easily. You can sign up for an online bank card – or a few cards – and bring with you. These cards are great as you can withdraw money in Egypt without getting charged at first (check the websites for updated details) and you can also use them in supermarkets and many other stores free of charge. This beats paying £1.25 every time you use your normal (UK high street bank) car

What to Bring With You

What to bring with you After questions about accommodation and places to study, we often find aspiring students of the Arabic language seeking advice on things they need to bring with them. Egypt is a truly global country and you'd be surprised to hear that the majority of things we are accustomed to in the West can be found here. As such, this list isn't too long.   I've omitted general things from the list (i.e. undies, socks and oh yeah - your passport)! In no particular order; Cash Pounds Sterling / Dollars are fine and you will find loads of places to exchange. Avoid the airports as they may charge you a premium (as a general rule, find out what the rate is that day on xe.com and don’t exchange with anyone charging over 2%). It's hard to say how much to bring and this is relative to you overheads and your length of stay. Please refer to the "overheads" page for an idea. International bank / cash cards See out post on dealing with fina

Hospitals and Medical Care

General Points British embassy 02 2791 6000 (Emergencies) Ambulance: tel 123 Bring money as you will generally pay a minimum of 100-150LE before any appointment and this can significantly increase dependent upon the clinic. Ask for the hospital co-ordinator (allows navigation round hospital better) MEDICAL CARE IN CAIRO - As Salam International Hospital in Maadi, Cairo 25240250 - Dar el Fouad in 6th October 8356030/8356040 - International Medical Center on Ismailia Road. - Anglo-American hospital  American Hospital  15 Khalid Ibn El Walid St., Heliopolis, Sheraton District, Cairo. Tel: 02 22670702 - 02 22679638 - 02 22679639 - Misr international Hospital - Hospital Rahma - Medical Specialized Centre Rehab City, new Cairo....tel 02-26070316/ 02=26070314 Dar el hekma, dr Seham el Berry,= woman gynaecologist clinic: 26070314/ 26070837...mobil nr 01271118185 Dar Al Hekma Hospital  10, Dr. Mohamed Hussein Heikal St.

A curriculum of study for Grammar (Nahw) Morphology (Sarf) and developing general language proficiency.

How long will it take me to be fluent in the Arabic language? This is a question that has been posed many times and the response is the same. Just follow through with a tried and tested curriculum and the language will come. Unsatatisfied with a vague answer and despairing of any fruitful results from their current curriculum, students jump from teacher to teacher and curriculum to curriculum void of benefit. The following information is by no means comprehensive but may help a student of the Arabic language make an informed decision as to how they aim to learn the language, gain some fluency and progress in their studies efficiently. The advice is based on experience from senior students in Cairo and relies on translated excerpts from the book “ Takween Malakat al-lughawiya ” by Bashīr ‘Esām al-Marakishi”. In Cairo there are two main curriculums of Arabic language taught: 1. Al-Arabiyyah Bayna Yadayk 2. Al-Kitab al-Asasi There are other methods but for now l