Greetings
As-salāmu ʿalaykum
as-sa-LAA-mu a-LAY-kum
Peace be upon you — the universal greeting. The reply is 'wa ʿalaykum as-salām'.
Ahlan wa sahlan
AH-lan wa SAH-lan
Welcome. 'Ahlan' alone is the everyday casual hello.
Izzayak / Izzayik
iz-ZAY-yak / iz-ZAY-yik
How are you, masculine and feminine. Distinctly Egyptian rather than standard Arabic.
Social
Maʿlesh
ma-LESH
Never mind, sorry, it can't be helped. Carries an enormous amount of social weight in Egypt.
Daily life
Nawwa
NAW-wa
The named winter storms that hit the Alexandrian coast between November and March. Locals track them by name; they are the reason the Corniche floods.
Bahari
BA-ha-ree
Literally 'seaward' — the old fishing quarter around the eastern harbour, and shorthand for the oldest, most Alexandrian part of the city.
Kornish
kor-NEESH
The Corniche — the seafront road that runs the length of the city and is the spine every address is described against.
Simsar
sim-SAAR
A property broker. In Alexandria a large share of the rental market never reaches a listing site and moves through simsars instead.
Food
Samak
SA-mak
Fish. In Alexandria this is not a food category but the entire local cuisine — you pick from ice and it is cooked to order.
Ahwa
AH-wa
Both coffee and the traditional café where people sit for hours. Alexandria's are older and more European in style than Cairo's.
Emergency
122 / 123
—
Police and ambulance. Fire is 180 and tourist police 126 — Egypt uses separate numbers rather than one.
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