Be VERY CAREFUL in Egypt

[Smiles3usa]

...and folks are best advised to be prepared. For us, we generally stay away from places for which the US issues a travel advisory. However, we travelled to Egypt in Oct 2011 -- on an independent excursion, for which I failed to buy travel insurance -- and had no problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, on the nile river cruise which we had booked, we were the only Americans aboard as all others (25 couples!) had cancelled their bookings.

 

If folks stay away from ALL places where there might be a disturbance, lots of folks will miss out on wonderful areas to see (I can't remember a time when there was absolute peace in the middle east). And don't forget there can be dangers where never anticipated, e.g., the bombing in Mumbai in 2008 or the bombing in Jakarta in 2009 or the abominable murders weekly in Chicago.

 

Yes, be aware of the dangers, but don't automatically give up on an area that you really want to see. Balance is key. And only you can decide which factors matter most.

[4774Papa]

...and folks are best advised to be prepared. For us, we generally stay away from places for which the US issues a travel advisory. However, we travelled to Egypt in Oct 2011 -- on an independent excursion, for which I failed to buy travel insurance -- and had no problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, on the nile river cruise which we had booked, we were the only Americans aboard as all others (25 couples!) had cancelled their bookings.

 

If folks stay away from ALL places where there might be a disturbance, lots of folks will miss out on wonderful areas to see (I can't remember a time when there was absolute peace in the middle east). And don't forget there can be dangers where never anticipated, e.g., the bombing in Mumbai in 2008 or the bombing in Jakarta in 2009 or the abominable murders weekly in Chicago.

 

Yes, be aware of the dangers, but don't automatically give up on an area that you really want to see. Balance is key. And only you can decide which factors matter most.

You do need to balance the threat to life and liberty against the benefits.

Places that I would clearly put on my MUST miss list would be:

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Most of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and many countries in that part of the World.

 

Egypt is one country were there is so much to see that if you love history, it would normally be a MUST see. However, considering the government in charge and that the country had many people that are not fond of Americans, or Westerners for that matter.

 

I lived in Saudi Arabia from 1981-85 and have deep affection for many Muslim people that I met there. It was a great experience, despite the hardships. The people were friendly and the threat to life was very small. However, from Americans that have gone back there to work recently, I have heard that the locals are not so friendly any more. The entire Middle East is moving closer to Radicalism.

[A Sixth?]

We did the Equinox a couple years ago. Great ship. Sounds like you are getting a lot of free time to cruise. Good for you two! For us, it is 2 1-week long cruises a year, maximum. We are giving Oceania a go next week. Century is getting refurbished next year (wahoo) Say hi to Joni. - Curt (& Gail)

 

Hi Curtis

 

Ya, we're lucky in a way... we are trying to do three or four cruise weeks a year, because we have a decent amount of time off each.... it's just paying for it!!! :p:p:p

 

Oceania.... oh baby!!!!! I would LOVE to try them... :o:p:D

[aaerobear]

Just back from a cruise with a port stop in Port Said with tours to Cairo with stops in Giza and the Kahn al Kalilili (sp) bazaar. There were no armed guards and no problems at all ( it was the 1st of May) The only problems were the unscrupuless camel jockeys that charged $10 dollars to ride the camels and then another $5 dollars to help you off the beasts.

 

sorry for the spelling errors

[joandian]

We were also in Egypt in May and overnighted at Mena House at Giza and then a port stop at Safaga and a trip to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings.

 

I organized private tours for a small group and we saw no problems at all. We did have a guide all three days and a security guard the day we were at Giza. Our guide provided us with good advice and helped with the stall keepers who were a little full on.

 

It's important to be aware of what is happening around the world but I don't let fear stop me from visiting places I want to go, I'd there are only isolated incidents. I would hesitate to go back to Egypt.

[A Sixth?]

I would hesitate to go back to Egypt.

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

So you would not go back?

[MicCanberra]

:confused::confused::confused:

 

So you would not go back?

They may go back but they would need to hesitate first.:D

[NLH Arizona]

I did a land tour of Egypt 30 days after the massacre of 62 tourists at Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Even though I received a letter from the State Department suggesting very strongly that I not go, I went anyway. I couldn't believe how safe it was (we had armed guards with us and sometimes a police escort, even though it didn't seem like with needed either) and how welcoming the people were. Everywhere we went the people thanked us for coming. Probably the best was that at all of the sights, there were hardly any people; there were just the 5 of us and our Egyptologist in King Tuts Tomb. Our tour which was suppose to be 15 people, was only 5 and probably one of the best trips I've ever had. I'd have no problem going back.

[richsea]

I did a land tour of Egypt 30 days after the massacre of 62 tourists at Queen Hatshepsut's temple. Even though I received a letter from the State Department suggesting very strongly that I not go, I went anyway. I couldn't believe how safe it was (we had armed guards with us and sometimes a police escort, even though it didn't seem like with needed either) and how welcoming the people were. Everywhere we went the people thanked us for coming. Probably the best was that at all of the sights, there were hardly any people; there were just the 5 of us and our Egyptologist in King Tuts Tomb. Our tour which was suppose to be 15 people, was only 5 and probably one of the best trips I've ever had. I'd have no problem going back.

 

How nice. So the secret to avoiding the crowds is to plan your visit so it's just after 50 or 60 tourists have been murdered by animals. So much more convenient. I'll try to remember that.

[TomTN]

In Giza (where the pyramids are), there was a horrific murder in broad daylight yesterday. It was a clash between Sunni and Shia, but violence is on the rise.

 

Then I just read this, dated June 1. The Provost of the American University in Cairo sternly recommends not touring the pyramids without a trusted host. As does the US State Department.

 

Read this and be careful.

 

http://americablog.com/2013/06/us-embassy-warns-against-visiting-egypts-pyramids-of-giza.html:eek:

 

It's a real shame. Both my wife and I have been to Egypt, during less volatile times.

 

For what it is worth don't go to Chicago, US. There were 30 murders last weekend in Chicago. Just a warning for anyone who might consider the US as a place to visit

[NLH Arizona]

How nice. So the secret to avoiding the crowds is to plan your visit so it's just after 50 or 60 tourists have been murdered by animals. So much more convenient. I'll try to remember that.

You might want to plan a trip after an incident like this, but I'm not that crass, I had the vacation planned a year before the accident!

[A Sixth?]

For what it is worth don't go to Chicago, US. There were 30 murders last weekend in Chicago. Just a warning for anyone who might consider the US as a place to visit

 

I love Chicago...:D

 

They make my wife show her ID before serving her a drink. :p:p

[Smiles3usa]

How nice. So the secret to avoiding the crowds is to plan your visit so it's just after 50 or 60 tourists have been murdered by animals. So much more convenient. I'll try to remember that.

 

Few, if any, americans plan their african/middle east vacation at the last minute. And I feel rather confident in submitting that no one plans to go to visit an area right after other tourist have been killed. For those who have already planned their vacations, however, dropping it -- at significant costs (for those without trip insurance, like us in 2011) -- sometimes just does not make sense. It's not like 50 or 60 tourist are murdered each week (although it does seem tourist are kidnapped weekly in south america) In any event, the sentiment trying to be conveyed, I thought, was mass cancellations because of a problem may not always be best.

[billie5]

How nice. So the secret to avoiding the crowds is to plan your visit so it's just after 50 or 60 tourists have been murdered by animals. So much more convenient. I'll try to remember that.

 

A rather nasty reaction to NLH, who was just pointing out that, if your trip is scheduled to follow a very unfortunate incident directed at tourists, that may not be reason to think you have no reasonable choice but to cancel. NLH's experience is, at the least, food for thought if you are caught up in that scenario.

[Hlitner]

DW and I went to Egypt in 2007 for 2 weeks...totally on our own and toured the country from Alexandria in the north to Abu Simbal in the South. It was one of our best trips (and we have been in about 100 countries) and besides the amazing sites..the best part were the wonderful Egyptians who were friendly, helpful, and a joy. So, when we see what has happened to that country in the past year it makes us very sad. We were back in Alexandria this past November (2 day port call) and were shocked at the deterioration of the cities infrastructure. Some might call what is happening in Egypt "democracy in action" but we suspect that many Egyptian's now think they opened a Pandora's box.

 

Hank

[cormike1]

We had an Egyptian trip planned for over a year..2 weeks touring including a Nile cruise and the 3rd week relaxing in Sharm El Sheik.....all paid for when the original rioting broke out. Once the Canadian Government said no travel to Egypt, we were then able to cancel and get a full refund. I was so disappointed as it is at the top of my bucket list. I keep hoping the country will stabilize. I will not travel their until it does. So it remains on my list to one day very soon be crossed off! It does pay to get cancellation insurance as you just never know what each day will bring.

[rugbypopsie]

I am off to Egypt and India next year. Not nervous I wont be going to
Giza but will be going to Karnak and Luxor. This trip is something that has been on my bucket list since I was child.."safe" what is safe these days, London underground?, watching a Mothers Day parade?, going to movie?, at school?, tragedies happen in every country..be sensible, alert to your surroundings and don't take stupid risks, but honestly nobody is going to scare me into wasting my life not travelling to the four corners as often as financially and physically possible.

Sue

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='billie5']A rather nasty reaction to NLH, who was just pointing out that, if your trip is scheduled to follow a very unfortunate incident directed at tourists, that may not be reason to think you have no reasonable choice but to cancel. NLH's experience is, at the least, food for thought if you are caught up in that scenario.[/quote]
Thank you for your comments, billie5.

My point was that even though a tragedy happened (something we could not have foreseen or prevented), which left most scared with the majority of the tourists cancelling, a few of us still continued to go, because it was a dream to see Egypt and after a year of planning and dreaming, there was no way I was going to let these terrorist win. And that even though we probably went there with a lot of trepidation (plus our friends and family's fears for us, not to mention the company I worked for and the State Department), it turned out to be very safe and a trip of a lifetime. The Egyptian people were most gracious and welcoming, which just proves that you can't judge an entire population of a country by the actions of a few.

I will always remember going to a Mosque and some school children (they allowed the school children to tour the Mosque, because of the lack of tourists) came up to me and one little girl said "how old are you". It took me a minute to understand, that she said that because that is what tourists ask her. Our guide tried to shoo the children away and I told her not to. I tried to teach them to say how are you, instead of asking someone's age. They didn't understand, but wanted to hear someone speak English. We all had some great fun. Just before we left, their teacher came over and ask if I would pose for a picture with the children, because they were thrilled that I spoke with them. A memory that will last a life time. These are the reasons that I love to travel and have learned to judge people on their individual mertis, not the actions of others. If we live our life being afraid, we will miss out on so much and miss out on meeting so many fanastic people.

[MicCanberra]

[quote name='NLH Arizona']Thank you for your comments, billie5.

My point was that even though a tragedy happened (something we could not have foreseen or prevented), which left most scared with the majority of the tourists cancelling, a few of us still continued to go, because it was a dream to see Egypt and after a year of planning and dreaming, there was no way I was going to let these terrorist win. And that even though we probably went there with a lot of trepidation (plus our friends and family's fears for us, not to mention the company I worked for and the State Department), it turned out to be very safe and a trip of a lifetime. The Egyptian people were most gracious and welcoming, which just proves that you can't judge an entire population of a country by the actions of a few.

I will always remember going to a Mosque and some school children (they allowed the school children to tour the Mosque, because of the lack of tourists) came up to me and one little girl said "how old are you". It took me a minute to understand, that she said that because that is what tourists ask her. Our guide tried to shoo the children away and I told her not to. I tried to teach them to say how are you, instead of asking someone's age. They didn't understand, but wanted to hear someone speak English. We all had some great fun. Just before we left, their teacher came over and ask if I would pose for a picture with the children, because they were thrilled that I spoke with them. A memory that will last a life time. These are the reasons that I love to travel and have learned to judge people on their individual mertis, not the actions of others. If we live our life being afraid, we will miss out on so much and miss out on meeting so many fanastic people.[/quote]
Nice story and beautiful memory for you to treasure.:D

[Chunky2219]

[quote name='celebrity']It really is a shame. I have a good friend that is a world traveler. He was a marine and not much unnerves him. He took a cruise to Eqypt and said " never again."
His tour bus had men with machine guns for their protection along with armed drivers both in front and back of his bus. He told me if I want see Egypt, watch You Tube videos or look at photos on line.[/quote]
Ten years ago, our neighbours visited Giza and did the full sweep of museums. Armed guards on the buses then. At one museum, a couple wanted a photo taken, a guard nearly fell over himself to do it. He passed his rifle to a kid of about 10 years old to hold, took the photo and held out his hand for money.

I suspect the ancient tourist areas of Egypt are not dramatically different now - they have always been a little dodgy, infested with hawkers & pickpockets, and offering a high possibility of a dose of the pharaoh's revenge if you eat or drink.

Don't forget the Luxor massacre of 1997; now that power has changed it may even be less likely that something similar will happen. I'd love to go there for the history, but given the circumstances even without civil threats, I don't think it will ever be attractive for me and DW to go.

On the other hand, Sharm-el-Sheik is a massive UK tourist destination. Cheap hotels, sun, sea, snorkeling and a very western approach to tourism. Aalthough even there, there is talk of killing the golden goose by restricting access to alcohol now that he governmnet has changed and 95% of he country doesn't make any money from visitors.
.
.
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[Jacs]

The USA has 4 times as many murders as a percentage of the population than Egypt does, does that mean people should not holiday in the US?

Yes Egypt is politically unstable at the moment, but the danger as a tourist does not lie in being murdered by wandering the streets, it is being caught up in violent political demonstrations. We were in Egypt in October as a cruise stop and went to Luxor and Cairo. I never felt unsafe the whole time, Luxor was very quiet and the people just wanted to help you and we're incredibly friendly. In Cairo there were protests on at the time so we were not allowed to to to the museum on the ships tour as it was right in the middle of all the action. The Giza plateau is on the outskirts of Cairo and nowhere near where any of the protests take place, again I felt very safe.

As with any city, you simply need to exercise common sense and take the required precautions for your own personal safety and you will be fine. There is always unknown situations that you can not foresee, but every Country seems to have suffered from horrible attacks these days, it's not reserved to Middle East countries.

[dwhe]

[quote name='cpj']After spending one morning in Cassablanca I have no desire to go anywhere in the [COLOR=Red]Middle East[/COLOR]. What a rat hole.[/quote]

Nearly right except for a couple of small points, Cassablanca is in Morocco which is in North Africa a few miles south of Gibraltar and Southern Spain and it has a coast line on the Atlantic........... you were right about it being a bit of a dump though.

[hcat]

Aside from safety, we also take into account where we want to spend our hard earned money....There are many places that welcome us in a fairly stable environment ......

[I]We are tourists, not journalists, adventurers or historians, so if we have to miss out, then that's Ok..[/I]

[hcat]

[quote name='dwhe']Nearly right except for a couple of small points, Cassablanca is in Morocco which is in North Africa a few miles south of Gibraltar and Southern Spain and it has a coast line on the Atlantic........... you were right about it being a bit of a dump though.[/QUOTE]

No really impressed with Gibraltar either!!! We were happy to get back to our ship!

[joandian]

[quote name='A Sixth?']:confused::confused::confused:

So you would not go back?[/quote]


Oops, should say I would not hesitate to go back.