When you see a religious image of bearded Arab elders in turbans next to Arabic calligraphy, your brain automatically makes the connection — oh, Islam, got it. But that's not always the case!

In Egypt, you'll find the same imagery in Christianity too. Same elders, same inscriptions, different religion. Over 10% of the country are Coptic Christians. In Old Cairo, there's a huge neighborhood packed with churches stacked on top of each other (plus a couple of synagogues). Icons with calligraphy do a pretty good job of breaking those stereotypes too.

Technically, Egypt has religious freedom. In practice, it's complicated. For example, Copts used to need permission from the president himself just to do minor temple repairs. Why? Nobody knows. Mosques don't have that rule.

Religious beliefs are written in your passport. So if someone decides to convert from one religion to another, it's a whole ordeal involving document changes. Converting to Islam is easy and straightforward, but going the other way? Not so much. A few years ago, courts refused to issue new passports to dozens of Egyptians converting to Christianity. Eventually, 12 of them won their case at the highest court a year later, but they got marked as "defectors."