15

Assumptions? You say Egypt is more dangerous for foreigners during political upheavals (namely now). Yet, you are unable to provide evidence supporting it. You state "Sorry Laketraveller but I beg to differ. Nationality commonly plays a role when trouble erupts" then follow up with words like "random attacks". You say there are holes in my logic but only by using words i have never used. You say i have "not really addressed the comments" by asking "if it is safe for any Westerners" but then you use the deaths of locals during the protests as evidence it is increasingly dangerous specifically for foreigners. You call me a risk seeker, yet evidence will prove that there was little risk to me. I was not on the front lines throwing stones, i was at a well measured distance and quickly left as events escalated.

You seem unable to read. You claim i'm saying that Egypt is a happy-go lucky, nothing ever happens kind of place. Yet, i have clearly stated TWICE "i would never use the words "safe" for Egypt". Furthermore, I have lived and worked in volatile regions for the majority of my adult life. I'm pretty good at reading a situation.. My personal choice to see something for myself as opposed to simply listening to news reports is my choice to make. The protests had ice cream and pretzel sellers. Parents brought their children to take a family photo. And foreigners were not targeted. Thus indicating the whole story wasn't being told. Of particular note, i in no way implied that a novice should follow suit, stating I "would never advise someone look for trouble anywhere".

OP expressed a concern over the escalation of anti-American sentiment as a direct result of the recent protests, and whether a different passport would make a difference. The facts are that there has been no escalation in attacks on foreigners or Americans other than the US Embassy protests on September 12th or 13th or whenever it was. And while tourism is down 25% over the last 2 years, attacks against foreigners have not gone up. You have been unable to prove otherwise other than with "your personal anecdotes" which you regard with such scorn when others do so.

16

Let me be the one to bring an end to this pointless tail-chasing. I have posted an article above entitled "Egypt Travel Risk - an Economic Perspective". Hopefully this will outline my specific concerns for the future in as clear a manner as possible while redirecting the conversation away from bald rhetoric and accusations and back to the real conversation which was asked at the beginning of this thread.

17

"Since when is that a normal experience for someone just travelling for pleasure? .....like the young Canadian who first posed the question here......."

It is common practice, here in Luxor, that whenever there is the slightest sign of any 'unpleasentness', like a row between two men, or a traffic accident, some concerned local will lead a foreigner around the upset by a different route, so as not to expose them to anything untoward.

I'm sorry if that doesn't sit well with your obvious opinion that all the locals are savages waiting for some opportunity to pounce, but it's a fact, nevertheless!

18

Thanks for laying it plainly like that, fluffy_bunny. Really well-stated and in accord with my perception. I've long read your blog and know that you've definitely got your eyes open about the world.

What fascinates me, as an American reading this thread, is that no one ever asks about the safety of America when traveling here, yet I have personally been mugged violently twice (once at gunpoint), sexually assaulted, attempted car-jacked, and shot at on the freeway one time or else was just in the path of gunfire, hard to say. This was in San Francisco, Berkeley, CA, Los Angeles, and New York, and the suburbs outside of New York which are rather upscale. I also remember a previous partner harassed in Alabama for having long hair in the 1990's. Additionally, I have THREE friends who are neurologically and permanently disabled from isolated acts of racially-motivated violence (all by neo-Nazis who live in area). Those all occurred in California. If we're talking about geopolitical violence and risk, I have no idea where the perception that developing Nations -- or Islamic Nations -- are somehow "more" violent than the good old safety here in the U.S.

I can't actually count how many people I know who have been mugged in the U.S. since I used to live in New York. Scores and scores.

And I say this as a woman in my thirties, a teacher, and a mother, who is fairly unassuming and is guilty only of a bit of wanderlust, but who also has my eyes wide open. It's tedious. Thanks for weighing in.

Edited by: shekinah_75

19

Egypt is perfectly safe, unless you're completely dumb and walk into a huge crowd as you see it clashing with the police. But it's be the same in the USA.

There were 3,000 people protesting in front of the US embassy, in a city where... 20 million people live. People living ten-minute from the US embassy did not even know there was a protest.

You will notice that expatriates living in Cairo tell you it's safe, and that those telling you the opposite are people who do not live in Egypt and have never lived there. A strange case of delusionnal hysteria I guess.

20

"The World is perfectly safe, unless you're completely dumb and walk into a huge war as you see others clashing with each other. There were 60 million people killed in the Second World War, on a planet where... 2.5 Billion other people lived. Most of them never saw the war. People living ten-minutes from battle zones did not even know there was a problem. So you see...the world is safe"

Yes I am being sarcastic, Catw. Do you realize how silly your argument is now?

21

I was in Egypt last year with my son, not on an organised tour but just the two of us. We travelled locally - ferry over the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, etc. and never had a spot of bother, just a wonderful time.

Incidentally, a woman in the neighbourhood had an accident at home (fell down the stairs) and died as a result.... (god bless her).

Life's too short to live in fear of "but what if".....