Greetings in Algeria are usually warm and fairly formal at first: men commonly shake hands, and close friends or relatives may exchange cheek kisses, while it is polite to use the right hand and a respectful title when meeting someone new. In more traditional or conservative settings, especially between unrelated men and women, wait for the other person to initiate physical contact, and a brief exchange of Arabic greetings such as
salam alaykum is common before moving on to conversation.