That sounds like a pretty depressing choice. I understand there's a call from the democracy activists to boycott the election?

thursdaysd - you are right - Democratically speaking, they are the two worst choices a liberal nation would want to choose from. The discussions could go on and on about how and why that happened, and the discussions do go on and on and get heated - but the good news is (for the time being anyway) people are allowed and free to have these discussions. We hope that won't change...but that is another discussion called "The Emergency Law"

Anyway, it's a work in progress and it is progressing nicely for tourists - I think we should have something that can be viewed as stable soon and this will hopefully give tourists the confidence to choose Egypt again.

What you heard about the boycott was true. There was a minority that planned to go X both boxes or some such action to make their ballot invalid, but those I've spoken to that felt that way, changed their minds since Thursdays announcement. That doesn't mean all of them decided this- but I think a majority (and I could be wrong) believe the disbanding of the Parliament was the best thing that could have happened. Many people are pretty happy about that.

I clearly haven't been paying anough attention (I've been traveling), but why is it a good thing Parliament was dissolved? Wasn't it democratically elected?

Debbie -

I had been planning to write to you direct to find out what was going on, so glad you did post what you see/hear on the ground.

Surprised by the disbaning of Parliament and now the election with limited choice and those that are somewhat questionable... either the former Mubarak buddy or the Muslim Brotherhood. Makes an outsider wonder. And, once either is voted in, for how long before the protests continue and they try to get one or the other out of office. Oh, and of course, the military that still holds quite a bit of power.

Wow, Democracy, whatever form... isn't all that neat and pretty. Growing pains for Egyptians for sure!

Keep us posted.

What I understand about the Parliament is that the rules were set that 2/3 of it could be filled (by vote) with members of established parties (Freedom & Justice, or any other) and 1/3 was supposed to be reserved for members NOT associated with any party, but when the election for that 1/3 came up, men belonging to the Freedom & Justice party (Muslim Brotherhood) somehow got themselves on the ballot and filled most of the seats. How this happened, I don't know, but it did and it was deemed illegal as they held a vast majority of the seats. If they had been effective in any way over the last months that they were in session, maybe so so so many wouldn't be so relieved that they got disbanded.

I hope IF there are new elections in 4 years, that the Revolutionists that are the most upset by all of this will have spent the 4 years identifying a man that can do the job. ONE man that can do the job - not 9 different ones that all want to split the liberal vote. When they figure out, that they can't split 51% 9 ways and still win - they will be on their way to something great.

From the get-go it was clear (to me) that there were only two groups that were large enough in numbers and organized enough with power/money/organization to run canidates. At the start it was clear that was the ARMY and the Muslim Brotherhood. NOT a big surprise this was the run off. For Americans, maybe you can relate to an election that has Democrats, Republicans and Ralph Nader or Ross Perot running. Come on- Ross gave it a good ol try, but who is really going to win?
I know I don't have a vote in the matter, but I hope for law and order to come back to Egypt and for everyone to feel secure and safe again. It is my opinion (and I know many feel differently) that the Muslim Brotherhood would never have provided this for me and my friends in tourism. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not convinced yet.

Not good choices at all. According to Al Ahram, Mursi is at 54% and Shafiq is at 45%. I know it will take days to get final results but it seems like a Muslim Brotherhood president is possible. I sure hope not.

turaj - The really good news (in my opinion) about Mursi winning is it shows we had a free election and it wasn't rigged by the last regime. That is a BIG DEAL here.
The other news about this is that without a MB Parliament, Mursi (I hope) will be nothing more than a figure-head with little to no power - so him being MB really doesn't mean a great deal to how life will change here.
Thirdly, it is my great hope that if he wins, it guarantees we will have another election in 4 years. That gives everyone 4 years to get their act together and find a viable canidate to run next time.

I might be wrong about it all, but that is my great hope.

Casual...well from the news here in US it seems he has won. Now will be the struggle between the military and MB. I agree it is great to see the Egyptians voting but this is not the best direction for Egypt or tourism in my opinion.

Thanks for the info. One might hope the new Pres. would balance the military, but I'm listening to the BBC who seems to think the military has too much power for that.

Now with a Muslim Brotherhood President, have to wonder how much damage and its impact on Egyptian society and for tourists? Can we expect 'Saudi or Iran-lite?' Guess it's wait and see for what's next!

I know there are some moves being made in Turkey with a growing Islamic faction...of course right now it is very tourist friendly but they have concerns. Their goal is an Islamic state...not sure where the tourist fits in...time will tell.

Attaturk who created the Turkey we know today, open to all religions, but with a secular government, would be rolling in his grave if the government went Islamic.

We thought we were watching a revolution, but it was just a military coup.

Hi Debbie

Thanks for keeping us posted from Cairo

I have been following but it is nice to get first hand local information .

Take Care

Casual_Cairo, never looked the dissolution of Parliament in this light! Looks like it's Mursi for President, but what bothers me is that the army appears to have taken over for all practical purposes. Am also concerned about possible negative effects on tourism. Anyway, look forward to further local insight from you...

geetika - I understand the formal announcement as to the winner will be made tomorrow (Thursday - June 21). Either way, all hell could break out tomorrow. If it isn't Morsi, we've been promised a new Revolution. I did notice today at the Khan el Khalili some of the jewelry people had all of their goods locked away and they said they were waiting to see how tomorrow goes before they put out their window displays again.
As far as it "looking" like it is a Morsi win - don't count chickens yet. Anything is possible. If it isn't Morsi that they announce wins, there will be lots of happy people, lots of angry people and more conspiracy theories than you can shake a stick at.

What I want to know is, is Mubarak dead yet? Lots of conspiracy theories running wild about that one too. Last night here was wild with the news sources announcing he was clinicly dead and then renigging on that.

Never a dull moment around here!

FYI - They have postponed the announcement til Sunday (maybe). We will see when they get the answer and let us know. Meanwhile it seems Mubarak has managed to get himself out of the prison for the time being and into the fancy hospital where he no doubt will be safer when the announcement is made.
Never a dull moment!

I would imagine at Maadi Hospital (I think that is where he is) his care will be far better and his chances to stay alive much better than in the military. Someday this will be a movie. Seeing those photos of him in the hospital bed in the court were too much. I am not sure an announcement is as close as Sunday the way things are going and I am very concerned about the reaction. The country needs a strong and fair leader and I don't see anyone fitting that description. Bet the "Mubarak fat cats" are all safe and sound in Europe with their families. Casual Cairo as always please update when you can..your perspective is a unique one!! Thanks.

Believe I heard he was transferred to the military hospital, where he was prior to the prison hospital and where overall it is safer and better care (whatever that means).

C_C, yes, never a dull moment! Just read reports that Shafiq is to be named president, watch out for more protests and demonstrations. And in all of this the common man will be hurt the most, as always Keep us posted...

It is official now - Morsi is the President. Whoever geetika heard, was as wrong as the others that were jumping the gun.
All we can do now is wait and see if the Brotherhood will straighten out this country for the better, or will impose many laws that don't help tourists. We hope not.
As some of my (foreign as well as Egyptian) friends have said, Now is the time for the Brotherhood to show the world they are better than the world thinks they are. It is their best chance to show us what they are all about. We will see.

Well it is democracy at work. I thought it interesting today with the large MB crowd outside in the 97+ temps and then the rather sparse Shafiq supporters in a ballroom at the Marriott Hotel very well dressed. It clearly shows what is what is wrong in Egypt...the rich and then the rest of the people mostly very poor. It will be a long struggle to get a viable middle class. I do think the majority of the people prefer the MB and an Islamic state...just not the business and tourism sectors. Just an outsider's opinion. Hope the MB can work things out with the military.

Yes C_C, obviously the report I heard was wrong, let's hope the Brotherhood shows everyone they're made of better stuff. Once the army took over it seemed quite likely they'd declare Shafiq the winner, but Morsi prevailed. Getting a fully functioning democracy going isn't easy but I'd like to think that Egypt is on the right path...

Was to be expected: http://bit.ly/LN2idl

td - who is Raymond Ibrahim? Never heard of him, nor could find any bio on him that told me who is is or anything. A couple of journalists (I use the term loosely) have jumped on this Salafeen story recently again - which is no less than 6 months old.
It should not be taken too seriously as the Salafeens are NOT the majority and they are not running the country. It's a bit like the GOP and the Tea Party - some may think they are the same but they aren't, are they?

I just got back from my own holiday and have been told that the Minister of Tourism and the major tour companies (and I suspect that means major hotel chains as well) are pressing Morsi to make a statement about his plans for the Tourism business in Egypt. I think we need to wait to see what he says.
Banning Beer and Bikinis, or Business as Usual, or something in between?

Guess we're all waiting to see what Morsi has to say. Should be interesting for all concerned, one way or the other. I'm sure you and others in the business aren't looking forward to something like Iran where female visitors have to be covered! Ugh!

Actually interesting that you said that sandi - I had a friend from Egypt take a tour of Iran recently (this last April, I think). The women went with the same impression you have of it and were all ready to be very covered. To their surprise, the women there, while having their hair covered, were much more relaxed and showing more skin than they ever expected. They showed hair - (my understanding from what she said) like what you see in the movies of the 60's when James Dean's girlfriend put on a scarf to ride his motorcycle or go out in the convertible. The normal (upper class) women had neck lines on that showed a little skin (not cleavage, but skin). Not all that bad - right? The ONLY real difference between Egypt and Iran, for them on this trip was that the only alcohol they were able to drink was found at the German Ambassadors home only. So - Iran has banned "beer and bikinis", but it was not as strict as we imagine.

So far the people have been able to pressure Morsi into making some changes after he even made decisions on issues, so I don't fear he is going to go nuts with any changes any time soon. We might have to compromise on some issues, but I hope nothing too BIG.

I've seen/heard likewise, that in many places a headscarf is all that is required. But do recall a trip report, maybe 2-3/yrs back, where the visitor indicated besides the obligatory headscarf, need for some coverup over her regular attire... believe she used a raincoat for this purpose. It might also depend on time of year and whether it's simply too warm/hot to cover, whether locals or visitors.

It also appears obvious that the younger generation of women are protesting what the mullahs dictate they wear, yet from tales, do we know whether those government security people who ride about checking whether woman are/n't covered, they get pulled aside, fined or maybe even put in jail.

It's just so hidden and so many conflicting stories....

For Egypt, we'll just have to see.

I think that required dress for women in Iran varies according to the political situation. I've heard different reports at different times.