Well....I have already replied to this story over on the Egypt site but I just want to add a few comments after reading the replies above. I spent two months backpacking in Egypt early this year traveling around by myself. It was a wonderful place and I would love to go back. I am an older woman near 60 years old but had no problems or hassles from men, well except one guy sitting next to me on a bus being a little too friendly. Mostly I found people very helpful and kind. Yes, the touts will be trying to sell you something and drive you nuts sometimes but it is part of a game to be played. Oh....and the only time I got tummy problems was when I decided to have a burger and shake at McDs......I stuck to the street food after that. Loved the fruit juice bars.
OP, excellent report, informative. Thanks for sharing.
#7 "The men viewed us as there to have sex with them."
Was your trip 40 years ago?
behrens1, not that I am trying to put you off or anything, but our experience in Morocco some years back was a bit disheartening. I was travelling with my husband (we were in our early 40s) and I remember being shocked at how conservative Casablanca of all places was. I was dressed correctly, but noticed that it was 95% of men who sat in the cafes and I got hostile looks from them as I sat with my husband. It was a different feeling to Egypt where they are a pain because they pester you non-stop, but in Casablanca, I felt less than welcome. To this day I don't know if it was their dislike of women in cafes, or the fact that we were west European tourists. We travelled widely when there, and were in Rabat, Essaouira, Marrakesh, and across the Atlas mountains in Ouarzazate, and Zagora (wonderful route). Casablanca, which decades ago was very cosmopolitain, was the place we felt most unwelcome which is a pity because it is a ravishingly beautiful country with truly biblical like scenes once you cross the Atlas mountains!
Excellent and informative report, molsons. :>))
Fieldgate - #7 "The men viewed us as there to have sex with them."
Was your trip 40 years ago?
A woman in my 60s, and dressed in shalwar kemeez with hijab, I was propositioned by a young man in Aswan last year!
Admittedly,that was the only time in my couple of weeks there, and most men were friendly but respectful, especially when they heard I was muslim - but it does happen.
On another topic, the best way to avoid the dreaded Tutankhamun's revenge is to take psyllium beforehand as a preventive (a trick I learned in Pakistan a few years ago).
A woman in my 60s, and dressed in shalwar kemeez with hijab, I was propositioned by a young man in Aswan last year!
A friend of mine, a female in her early 60s, lived in Egypt for a year and had a b/f, 18 years old (half the age of her son).
It's the kind of thing she wouldn't do at home, while in Egypt it was ok, and she wasn't the only one. It's quite popular there and a few other African country. Revitalising sex in exchange for up-keep and small gifts. For those young lads to be with a western woman of any age and appearance counts as an achievement .
Female sex tourism is alive and well in both Morocco and Egypt. The first time I witnessed it was in Morocco. A much older and very plain white woman was with a young, very handsome black guy at our hotel. At the drumming concert, in the hotel dining room, he was flirting and touching her. She was gazing lovingly into his eyes and giving him numerous loving touches.
In Egypt I hired a driver for a while to take us to several sites. He told me he had an American girlfriend who was studying in Scotland. He met her while on vacation last year and they were communicating on skype. She was coming for a visit during Christmas break and they were planning a trip to Dahab. This guy was pretty suave and well spoken. When I asked to see his gfs pic he told me that 'love didn't depend on looks.' I then assumed she was probably not too good looking. That maybe is just the cynic in me but I was wondering who was going to pay for the vacation to Dahab and who had paid for his recently purchased car.
My understanding is that female sex tourism is paid for with gifts rather than cash. That way women get the illusion that it is true love. The relationship lasts as long as the woman keeps giving. I know a woman, a teacher in Hong Kong, who lost her savings to a Nigerian chap who she met on the internet. Their love affair was in cyberspace but no less real. She started sending him money and so forth until she was tapped out.
This guy was pretty suave and well spoken. When I asked to see his gfs pic he told me that 'love didn't depend on looks.' I then assumed she was probably not too good looking.
Sorry, OP, a little bit off topic....
I was with my partner on a dhow (a sail boat) that we hired with crew for a day, in Lamu, Kenya.
One of the crew, a guy about 20 years old, asked if we wouldn't mind if he brought his gf on board. No, we didn't.
We moored at a pier and a few minutes later he was back with his gf. The gf was an ugly white woman in late 50s, a real estate agent from London. No, it wasn't that kind of gf one would've expected.
Yes, the guy that propositioned me was about 18, too. I just stared hard at him but he didn't get the message and asked agai, offering moneyn - at which point I just screamed "shuma!" (for shame) and he ran away. :>))
A lot of the Moroccan men want to marry older European women, as a way of getting out of the country. By and large, from what I understand, they treat them pretty well. And Moroccan men have got such wonderful, melting eyes that it's very hard to say no to them.
But I was treated with nothing but respect from the men in Morocco, fortunately. In fact, I made several good friends there.
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