Destination: Egypt
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK INFORMATION
Dangers & Annoyances
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The incidence of crime, violent or otherwise, in Egypt is negligible compared with most Western countries. Most visitors and residents would agree that Egyptian towns and cities are some of the world’s safest places to walk, anywhere, at any hour of the day or night. Unfortunately, the hassle factor often means that this isn’t quite the case for an unaccompanied foreign woman.
Apart from the issues discussed here, you should be aware that the Egyptian authorities take a dim view of illegal drug use.
Terrorist acts against foreign tourists in 1997, 2004 and 2005 resulted in a great many deaths, and have led to the government giving security the highest possible priority. This can be annoying for travellers, as convoys and tourist-police escorts can be a real drag. That said, we can’t blame the government for doing its utmost to convince tourists that their security is of paramount importance to Egypt; after all, the income derived from tourism constitutes an extraordinary 20% or so of the country’s GDP. We’d say that Egypt is presently no more or less dangerous than any other country, your own included.
Scams, Hustles & Hassle
Egyptians take hospitality to strangers seriously. You’ll receive a steady stream of salaams (greetings) and the odd ahlan wa sahlan (hello/welcome) inviting you to sit and have shai (tea). A lot of this is genuine, particularly in rural areas, where drink, food and transport are frequently offered with no expectation of remuneration. But in more touristy places – notably around the Egyptian Museum and Pyramids in Cairo, and all around Luxor – a cheery ‘Hello, my friend’ is double-speak for ‘This way, sucker’. One traveller wrote to us about feeling like a ‘walking wallet’ in Egypt, and we knew exactly what she meant. Be warned that you’ll become a magnet for instant friends who just happen to have a papyrus factory they’d like to show you. You’ll be showered with helpful advice such as ‘the museum is closed, take shai with me while you wait’ – of course the museum isn’t closed and refreshments will be taken at a convenient souvenir shop. As an English-speaker you might be asked to spare a moment to check the spelling of a letter to a relative in the USA, and while you’re at it how about some special perfume for the lady…
It’s all pretty harmless stuff but it can become very wearing. Everyone works out a strategy to reduce the hassle to a minimum. Years ago, a colleague kept interest at bay by jabbing his finger at his chest and saying, ‘Ya Russki’ (I’m Russian). Not only were the hustlers defeated by the language, everyone knew that the Russians had no money. But now that Egypt is a popular holiday destination for newly rich Muscovites, the street entrepreneurs are just as fluent in Slavic sales patter as they are in English, German, French, Dutch and Japanese.
About the only way to deal with unwanted attention is to be polite but firm, and when you’re in for a pitch cut it short with ‘Sorry, no thanks’.
Aside from the hustling, there are countless irritating scams. The most common involves touts who lie and misinform to get newly arrived travellers into hotels for which they get a commission.
If you do get stung, or feel one more ‘Excuse me, where are you from?’ will make you crack, simmer down and wise up – by acting rudely or brusquely you may offend one of the vast majority of locals who would never dream of hassling a foreigner and is only trying to help a guest to the country.
Travel Advisories
For the latest travel advice you can log on to the following websites:
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
US Department of State/Bureau of Consular Affairs
Theft
Theft never used to be a problem in Egypt but it seems to be becoming one. In the past couple of years we’ve received a steady stream of letters from readers concerning money disappearing from locked hotel rooms. The obvious conclusion to draw is that staff are involved, but, in the cases we’ve been alerted to, management were disinclined to take responsibility until threatened by the tourist police, at which point reimbursements were offered. Money has even ‘disappeared’ from hotel safes. Our advice is to keep your cash and valuables on your person at all times.
We’ve received tales of taxi scams too, most notably one in which the taxi driver feigns irritation, stops the car and gets out to check something in the boot. While the boot is open (and the passenger’s view blocked), a piece of luggage is removed from the roof and placed into the boot. The passenger generally only realises a bag is missing long after the taxi has disappeared.
There are also a few areas where pickpockets are known to operate, notably on the Cairo metro and the packed local buses from Midan Tahrir to the Pyramids. Tourists aren’t the specific targets but be careful how you carry your money in crowded places.
Generally though, unwary visitors are parted from their money through scams, and these are something that you really do have to watch out for.
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