Menu
Expat.com

Emergencies: When the doorbell is ringing in the middle of the night?

Last activity 12 April 2013 by paazoka

Post new topic

thenomad

Last night at 4am I suddenly woke up by the sound of the ringing doorbell. I heard that there was somebody in front of the entrance door of my flat in the 4th floor in Cairo. A burglar who is checking if somebody is at home?

I grabbed my mobile and remembered the police number 122, then at the same realised that they - as I heared - generally don't speak English there and won't be able to help me as I don't speak arabic.

So now my question. What to do in emergency cases like these? Who to contact? And what to do? Is it best to make noise to scare away the intruder? 

Thanks!

chocolata

Hi would just like to say whatever you do don't answer the door as you never know who it might be!..better to just make some noise put on the lights to let people know you are in...after a while they know that you are not going to answer and will go away.
I have had people coming to my door late at night ..but don't answer if it's after ten if i am alone...It's not safe right now here in Egypt..so better to be safe than sorry..so done the right thing.

Boules

you should have Egyptian friend help you in such case, and believe me you can find a faithful Egyptian that are ready to help in such cases.

ExpatEnglishTeacher

You can get a dog and a gun. Or at least a metal door. Just turning the light on and making some noise doesn't always help. Maybe it's you theyre looking for in the first place. If you show you're inside and don't answer it shows you're scared and could temp the idiots from trying something even more stupid.

Or like someone suggested have a good neighbor that would come over.

Don't use the police for anything they suck and in the end if they do anything (which they never do) they will rob you themselves in " halawa"

Karena

I have the best guard dog you could ever wish for, no one would ever get past her, she only has to hear the lift door and she is up and raring to go and seriously never open your door when your alone whether day or night, especially nowadays which is very sad to say. :(

don moe

dont waste your time and credit for calling the Police, as the answer machine will reply you that the call is recorded then to press 1 or bla bla bla , till you will be already in danger!

Just make some noise and you should always have some thing extra to defend yourseld in case if this situation happened again, electric shock, self defense spray, gun....... and so on.

Be safe!

aligirl

Boules wrote:

you should have Egyptian friend help you in such case, and believe me you can find a faithful Egyptian that are ready to help in such cases.


what a great idea, now we need egyptian bodyguards.. omg..:rolleyes:

i got myself a DOG, best solution ever.

paazoka

the pest thing you can do is to make noise and call your neighbours
the noise is the best solution but just noise dont speak

Articles to help you in your expat project in Cairo

All of Cairo's guide articles

Find more topics on the Cairo forum

madinaty or rehab?
black hair/braiding salons in cairo
Nigerian food in Cairo
Hair salon 6 October city
Nigerian Restaurants
Looking to learn Arabic. Living in madinaty
Looking for Afro Hairdresser
Hair braiding in Cairo
Zamalek or Maadi?
Single Mother Living in Cairo
hairdresser-cairo
Movies with subtitles?
How are black americans treated in Cairo Egypt?
Is Madi a good place to live?
How do Egyptians treat Orthodox blonde with blue eyes?
Living in Rehab
Cleaning Service
Why egyptian ladies dont like russians ladies???
Other discussions about everyday life in Cairo
Choose the best health insurance
Protect your health and get easy access to treatment for expats in Cairo.
Plan your international move
Facilitate your move to Cairo by getting a quote from our top rated movers.
Open a bank account that suits you
Discover the best international banks to manage your money securely.
Apply for a visa
Complete your visa application easily and quickly with a visa experts.