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Egypt Safe to Travel article Egypt safety travel
IS EGYPT SAFE NOW?
by Joyce Carta
As you can imagine, I have been getting this question
frequently since the attacks of 11 September. I thought
I'd share my answer with you all here. Travel always
entails some uncertainties, but then, so does life.
(That's why we named our travel business "New
Adventures.") Is it safe now to travel to Egypt?...I
invite you to read my very well considered response to
the question.
Honestly, I can tell you that were it not for business
keeping me here in the States I would go back to Egypt
now, just so that I could personally relate how safe it
is. I know when people think of the region they think of
the Israeli/Palestinian problems, but that isn't
effecting and hasn't been effecting Egypt. I had clients
who arrived in Cairo on 10 Sep, toured the country into
the Sinai and left 29 Sep to go on to Jordan (where they
had an equally wonderful time). I was in e-mail contact
directly with them and also, of course, daily with our
staff in Egypt and Jordan...my clients experienced no
problems whatsoever, had a wonderful time and fell in
love with the Egyptian people (this is not surprising,
everyone falls in love with the Egyptian people...they
are, well, lovable). The Egyptian people, the vast
majority who are thoughtful and moderate in their views,
like Americans enormously...we're very similar when it
comes to friendliness, warmth and we share the same,
sometimes silly, sense of humor.
And, of course, the way our trips are organized, private
and escorted, matters as well. You travel in a private
car, with 2 Egyptians: your private Egyptologist and
your driver. You are as inconspicuous as it's possible
for a Westerner to be. Our State Department has issued
no travel warnings, advisories or alerts for Egypt (or
Jordan, for that matter). The most recent issuance from
the State Department concerning Egypt was a general
Consular Information Sheet with the general overview
travelers to the country should be aware of, and this
was issued on 9 February 2001. Under the current world
conditions the State Department's recommendation, and
the recommendation of our Embassy in Cairo is: maintain
a discrete profile, avoid large crowds or
demonstrations, be alert about your surroundings and
generally exercise prudence...and this is excellent
advice no matter where or when you travel.
Air travel has probably never been safer than it is now.
And the security precautions the Egyptian government has
had in place to protect tourists for the last 5 years
are impressive. There are metal detectors at the entries
to all the sites, and at the hotel entryways, you see
the military presence everywhere and over-the-road
travel between certain cities tourists frequent has been
by army escorted convoy. And there have been no
problems. Tourism is one of the country's most important
sources of hard currency, and besides not wanting any
untoward incidents, Egypt is very pragmatic and wants in
no way to jeopardize a vital economic benefit. |
