Safety in Egypt at July 27th, 2006
Return to the Tour Egypt Feature Story, Safety in Egypt at July 27th, 2006
Due to many questions, we have once again made a new assessment of the safety of tourists, including American tourists, in Egypt.
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This blog provides comments for our feature articles
July 27th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
another good analysis. As a British ex pat living here I do not feel at threat at all. Yet the policies of the British government are not admired. Thankful Egyptians do not think an individual tourist is responsible for the entire foreign policy of the country they come from. I recently had Danish guests here and they also felt totally safe and this was after the problems about the cartoon.
Today president Mubarak went on record saying Egypt would not get involved and they stood by Camp David. Although emotionallly Egyptians want to help fellow Arabs realistically they admire Mubarak for managing to keep them out of conflict and safe.
So please come to Egypt where ever you are from and have a good time.
July 27th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
As a tourist I have always felt safe in Egypt.
When we were travelling between Minya and Assiut recently, the police thought our driver said we were Israeli - there was surprise, but no hostility. It did provide all with a laugh and smiles when they realised we were Australian.
Terrorism can occur anywhere - but for general safety Egypt is far safer than most countries.
Don’t miss out on a wonderful experience
July 28th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Great article. As I said in response to your prior article, Egypt is safer than many American cities and sites. I also agree with your statements about our government. People around the world can just look at the polls to see what Americans think of Bush, et al. these days. Our foreign policy leaves a lot to be desired. Luckily, though, as you state, most people in other countries and in particular in Egypt can separate us from our government.
Democracy works well for us in America because we are used to it. It sometimes takes a while for democracy to work in other cultures. We need not judge those countries who survive and thrive without a true demorcracy. If we try, we might just learn a lot from countries like Egypt.
I always feel safe and taken care of in Egypt and can’t wait to go back again.
July 29th, 2006 at 2:24 am
I loved th earticle and even more the comments, which confirms the reality of the nature of the Egyptian people, being moderate , kind and have a high sense of humer, naturally their cultural tendancy to extend protection and hopitality to the visitors too!
July 29th, 2006 at 2:46 am
Hi’ at the moment I live in Cairo, egypt.I walk down the streets, and stores and no one brother me, i feel safe here. I hear a lot of stuff about wants going on,,i am sorry about any war, war shouldn’t be.I fine the Egyptain people very nice and friendly..i have not seen amy bad things happening here. I fine police and sercuity all over the place. The smiles of people are very kind,.. feel free to travel here its a wonderful place to see.. But i do care about human life being murdered, we are all gods children and we shouldn’t fight!!!!!live and let live
July 31st, 2006 at 4:23 pm
Thank you for the article re safety in Egypt. my daughter and I are booked to go in September this year and have been looking forward to it since February. The present conflict situation in Lebanon did cause us some conern especially in view of our Prime Minister’s ill advised remarks (we are Canadian) but your article makes a great deal of sense and is very reassuring. Thank You we can resume our anticipation in seeing the Wonders of Egypt. Vi Ready
August 1st, 2006 at 12:29 pm
i was in luxor the 16/23 july 2006 we stayed at the st joseph i felt safer there than i do back in the uk.its a pity blair/bush cant/wont do more the stop the KILLING OF INNOCENT MUSLIMS.MIND YOU WITH THE MESS THE UK/USA HAVE LEFT IN IRAQ ENOUGH SAID.SO ISRAEL CARRY ON KILLING MUSLIMS BECAUSE NO-ONE HAS THE BALLS TO STOP THEM.NOW I KNOW WHY THE YANKS ARE HATED THE WORLD OVER.
August 1st, 2006 at 12:50 pm
For Violet: I will also be in Egypt during September. Have fun.
For Michael: Do keep in mind that I am a Yank
. And I really do not feel hated myself throughout the world. I think that they have more come to hate Bush and American politics. Heck, most Americans hate American politics. And in case you can’t tell, I am very against what is going on with Israel/Lebanon. At the risk of making lots of people mad, Bush should go back to partying and watching baseball games and leave the politics to statesmen. It would actually be a very good time to have someone with some brains and experience in office. I personally believe Bush will go down as perhaps the worst US President in American history (He still has some time left in office to ruin our economy, deprive us of more of the liberties that our founders gave us, and get World War III started - us and Israel against everyone else). Ops, I’ve probably said too much. I keep having to chant to myself, “Must remain off the topic of politics”, “Must remain off the topic of politics”.
August 1st, 2006 at 1:28 pm
Way to go, Admin! Most Americans don’t realize that it is our policies that are so disliked, not individuals. But I’ll join you in the mantra: “Must remain off the topic of politics”, “Must remain off the topic of politics”. LOL
August 1st, 2006 at 1:51 pm
BTW, good hotel the St. Josephs. One of my favorite budget hotels, and budget or not, my favorite pub in the basement.
August 2nd, 2006 at 2:13 am
ok violet i get your point.i wonder if things would have been differant if there was oil in lebanon? violet thanks for replying to my comments.i hope you have a great time in egypt we did.
August 2nd, 2006 at 3:38 am
jane akshar is this jane from the flats in luxor?
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:01 pm
wow I really needed to read this, so glad you wrote it, I will be travelling there in about six months, first time ever for me, am very excited and to be honest scared at the same time since I’m American. Not a Bush fan either.
I have always wanted to travel there, can remember when I was a little girl seeing the word “Egypt” thinking now that is the coolest looking word, spellings can have their own beauty. so Egypt here I come
August 9th, 2006 at 12:39 am
Just wondering if it was a good idea to study in Egypt for about 6 years? I hear President Mubarak is keeping the country under control, but he’s really old. I’m afraid he’ll die while I’m studying there, and there would be anarchy. I hear the terrorist group The Muslim Brotherhood are getting stronger and stronger, and that’s what I’m afraid of. What if President Mubarak dies while I’m studying there, and the Muslim Brotherhood ends up taking control?? I would have wasted all those years there without achieving a degree. Whoever knows anything, please respond…
Thanks.
October 25th, 2006 at 9:27 am
I was in Egypt with 2 of my children recently and your analysis is very accurate. The Egyptian people are very friendly to Americans and are extemely helpful. While walking in depressed areas of Cairo we never felt like we were in harm’s way, but try doing that in an Amercan inner city.
November 13th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Hello,
My friend and I (both American females) are thinking about visiting Egypt between Christmas and New Years. Can someone please comment further on the saftey issue in Cairo and in Sharm during this time? We are a bit nervous about booking the trip.
Also, how many days do you recommend in Cairo? We have 8 days and are looking at visiting Cairo, Sharm and maybe one other city (any must-see recommendations?).
Many Thanks,
November 14th, 2006 at 11:45 am
Natasha,
Per your inquiry on safety in Egypt, this was one of the primary reasons I went to Egypt on my last visit, to access such issues. I only recently returned. On that visit, I went to places that are not usually tourist destinations, including for example, El-Arish, just about 20 miles from the Gaza Strip in the Northern Sinai.
Frankly, I actually felt safer than in the US. That may sound strange, but the security in Egypt is excellent, for exceeding what we find here, and they take it very seriously. Farther more, the Egyptians themselves are very friendly. This is not all too surprising, since the government receives much of its income from tourism, and many, many Egyptians earn their living in the Tourism industry.
Sharm el-Sheikh is well protected and many measures have been taken to make sure it stays that way. Cairo is likewise.
I really do not know how to reassure tourists anymore than I already have, but as I have said before, most people simply wonder why they were so concerned after arriving in Egypt.
As for visiting other cities, this sort of all depends on how rushed you want things. You could spend the whole eight days in Sharm and Cairo. There is much to see in Cairo, including the Museums, pyramids and many other monuments, as well as the shopping, and you will enjoy Sham very much. However, a day trip to Alexander would not be to difficult, and of course, if you want to go to another area with major tourist attractions, sort of the must see types, you could go to Luxor on your way to Sharm (hopefully flying). Luxor will require a full day just to begin seeing all it has to offer, and two days is more the norm.
January 11th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
I was in Egypt last summer. I felt very safe there. Everywhere I went, there were soldiers and tourist police armed to the teeth. I particularily liked the machine gun nest outside my hotel in Hurghada. I think we’d have a lot less crime in the West if we followed Egypt’s example. I was surprised about the comments regarding Bush in the “Egypt Feature Story”. In Egypt, I was standing outside my Luxor hotel when a group of young Egyptians came over and asked if I were an American (I thought I was about to be kidnapped!)…I said yes…they asked if I were a Christian…I said yes…they then pulled out crosses they wore around their necks and said there were too. They then said “we love Bush” and went on to tell me how wonderful they thought he was. It felt good hearing people not talk trash about the president for a change. Its a shame I had to travel half way around the world to hear it!