When particular friends salute each other, they join their right hands, and then each kisses his own hand, or puts it to his lips and forehead, or raises it to his forehead only; or merely places it on his breast, without kissing it: if after a long absence, and on some other occasions, they embrace each other; each falling upon the other’s neck, and kissing him on the right side of the face or neck, and then on the left. Another mode of salutation is very commonly practised among the lower orders, when two friends or acquaintances meet after a journey: joining their right hands, each of them compliments the other on his safety, and expresses his wishes for his welfare, by repeating, alternately, many times, the words “selámát” and “teiyibeen:”[322] in commencing this ceremony, which is often continued for nearly a minute before they proceed to make any particular inquiries, they join their hands in the same manner as is usually practised by us; and at each alternation of the two expressions above mentioned, they change the position of the hands: in repeating the second word, each of the two persons turns his fingers over the thumb of the other; and in repeating the first word again, the former position is resumed. In polite society, various other formal salutations and compliments follow the selám. To most of these there are particular replies; or two or more different forms of reply may be used in some cases; but to return any that custom has not prescribed would be considered as a proof of ignorance or vulgarity. When a person asks his friend, “How is your health?” the latter replies, “Praise be to God!” and it is only by the tone of voice in which he makes this answer, that the inquirer can infer whether he be well or ill. When one greets the other with “Teiyibeen,” the usual reply is, “God bless thee,” or “God preserve thee.” A friend or acquaintance, on meeting another whom he has not seen for several days, or for a longer period, generally says, after the selám, “Thou hast made us desolate [by thy absence from us];” and is usually answered, “May God not make [us] desolate by thy absence.”—The ordinary set compliments in use in Egyptian society are so numerous, that a dozen pages of this work would not suffice for the mention of those which may be heard almost every day.