violetshadows

Hey all! I'm studying abroad in Italy, (Milan) and my spring break is coming. Most of the kids in the program are going to the Greek Islands, so I know those will be overrun with stupid crazy American students.

I wanted to go to Egypt, but my father said there was a political situation there. I'm not though, because Cyprus is closer to Iraq than Alexandria, Egypt is.

Do you have any insight or advice on this topic? Because flights to Egypt were MUCH cheaper than flights to Cyprus and as a student... well cheap is key.

alanRow

Let's put it this way

You are more likely to be murdered, assaulted, raped or robbed in "civilised" places like Washington DC.

violetshadows

topping

Steve_James

Violet - I was in Egypt (Luxor) last month and felt quite safe.

Tourism is their main source of income so they're very welcoming. Unless you're Danish I wouldn't have the slightest hesitation ...

I was there for a week ... and could have happily stayed 2-3

Steve

elina

"Unless you're Danish I wouldn't have the slightest hesitation ..."

There was an article in my newspaper just yesterday, titled: An Obviously Nordic Blond in Cairo´s Anti-Danish Demonstrations. In the middle of all their shouting and flag-burning people had been very smiling and friendy, helped him to a place where he could see better, and tried to practise their English: How are you? Do you enjoy Egypt?

I have been by myself in both Egypt and Cyprus. Cyprus is 1500 kilometres from Iraq, and there are the sea, and Syria and Lebanon in between. So it has nothing to do with the Iraq-situation. You would not even know that Iraq is there except from TV-news.

The only thing you would have to keep in mind in Egypt is your clothes. No shorts and skimpy tops outside the hotel pool or beach. Some Russian girls wore very revealing clothes, and the local men kept laughing at them and threw all kinds of comments to each other. I can only imagine the content of those comments. Otherwise I thought that Egytian people were one of the nicest ones I have met anywhere. And they have an amazing sense of humour. Everything done with a very solemn face, and then suddenly a huge laughter They got me every time. I even got invited to wedding in Luxor, which was an experience.

Keep in mind that Cyprus is way more expensive than Egypt. But if you hesitate why don´t you just go to the Canary Islands?

CotswoldScouser

Proximity to Iraq is utterly irrelevant in all this.

Egypt has a significant Islamist extremist movement. That movement's objectives include cutting off ties with the West.

The movement is kept in check partly by the fact that the overwhelming majority of Egyptians want more, not fewer ties, and partly by the Egyptian government's brutal repression of the movement. So its attempts to destroy Egypt's tourist industry mostly fail.

But that doesn't stop them trying - and succeeding - from time to time: in the past decade there have been substantial terrorist attacks, causing dozens of deaths each time, on tourists at the Cairo Museum and in Luxor. But then, there've been attacks in recent years from non-Muslim terrorists virtually everywhere in the world - including Oklahoma City.

Anyone who tells you you're running no risk of being on the receiving end of terrorism in Egypt is fantasising. But anyone who avoids going to Egypt for that reason would be nuts. People run into trouble on holiday for all sorts of reasons - thieves, their own folly, catching dread diseases, traffic accidents, natural catastrophes. The list is endless, and terrorism causes a trivial proportion of holiday casualties.

Overall, you're far less at risk in Egypt than almost anywhere else around. But life isn't risk free anywhere, ever.

P_M

My dad and stepmom just returned from Egypt 2 weeks ago and the dangers from the "political situation" are BULL!! That had a great time and never felt unsafe. No disrespect to your father, but he is quite mistaken.

wco81

Didn't some Israeli tourists get blown up in Egypt last year?

And in the past month, some tourists from Hong Kong died when their tourist bus overturned.

And there was some kind of drowning incident with a ferry.

Are the pyramids worth risking your life?

And if there isn't more danger, what about the messed up govt.? Not saying Egypt is as bad but would you go to North Korea?

P_M

Accidents happen everywhere in the entire world, so the ferry accident in Egypt and an overturned bus in Hong Kong have absolutely no relevance to the original question. Unfortunately, terrorist attacks can happen anywhere, anytime. As you may recall, most of the people who died on 9/11 were not traveling, they were having a day at the office which they thought would be like any other. Your odds of being killed in a terrorist attack are much slimmer than the odds of being killed in a car wreck.

violetshadows

I'm actually South Korean and my father wouldn't let me go to South Korea to visit because of the situation in North Korea. His paranoia stems from the fact that his office building is less than a block from ground zero and he watched the two towers fall to the ground. His concern for my safety I believe is warranted.

But thank you all for your advice and opinions. I do hope he considers letting me go. I feel as if it's a great oppurtunity and agree with the majority of replies that accidents and terrorism happen everywhere. And honestly, I'm studying in Milan which is apparently the second likeliest city in Europe to be attacked, after London, which just did get attacked in the fall. So I feel like just being alive is a risk, and I would really like to go in any case to Egypt still.

P_M

voiletshadows, knowing what I now know about your dad, I can certainly understand his concern. What an awful ordeal that must have been for him, and everyone else who was near the towers that day. But as you already know, there's no place in the world that's safe.

For what it's worth, let me share this with you. As I mentioned above, my dad and stepmom were recently in Egypt. I was scheduled to go on that trip with them, but I had to cancel due to an unfortunate turn of events in my personal life. At first I was very sad to miss that opportunity, but now I try to look at it this way. Egypt has been around for thousands of years. It will still be there in a few more years when I am ready to go. It sounds like you are very young and you've got a lot of traveling years ahead of you. There will come a day when you can make your own travel decisions, and when that day comes, Eqypt will be there for you.

elina

"And there was some kind of drowning incident with a ferry."

Incident? Over 1300 people died. But that had nothing to do with Middle East or terrorism. It was a normal passenger boat that carried mostly Egyptians from Saudi Arabia to Egypt.

Violetshadows, both Cyprus and Egypt are normal package tourism destinations for Europeans. They are both in every package agency´s catalogue. And Cyprus and Egyptian Red Sea coast are family destinations where people go with their children.

nytraveler

VioletShadows -

This may be a big shock to you but politics and geography are not the same thing. (Are you a middle school student by any chance?)

How you could think proximity to Iraq is germane to the issue at all is beyond me.

What matters is the government and political climate of the country you intnd to visit - and as mentioned above Egypt has a large and active anti-western fundamentalist movement. In the recent past there have been very many ugly violent incidents related to westerners. (Did all this somehow not attract your attention in your readings on Egypt? Exactly what are you "studying" in Italy?)

Cyprus is a perfectly safe place to vacation for westerners. Egypt - at the moment - is somewhat questionable - and would - I think - require ratinocination and judgment/decisions of which you are obviously incapable - or perhaps oblivious is a better word.

violetshadows

I'm not studying Egypt, I also never said I was studying Egypt or Egyptian politics or history, all I said was that I considering was going there because someone said it would be warm. I'm a Biology/Psychology double major with an Italian minor.

I'm not in middle school and your answer was completely and unnecessarily harsh and mean spirited for whatever reason. I searched for Egypt and conflict on cnn.com and all I got was news about the bird flu, so I'm sorry if I'm not a walking encyclopedia on Egypt. But these forums are meant for other people to help and be helped and if you're going to be such a ridiculously condescending and judgmental person I don't think you can possibly help anyone. At least not with that attitude.

And I still thank everyone for their replies, but I've completely lost my appetite for help on this topic.

Leely

violet,
Post your question on the Africa/Middle East board.

Of course, you know your father best so that may in fact be what your hesitation is about.

Take care and enjoy Milan.

Carolina

There have been quite a lot of terrrorist insidents in Egypt these last few years. One of the Hilton hotels was bombed pretty badly, and also there were several bombs in Sharm-al=Sheik (Red Sea resort) last year - hotels and a market. There are certain risks with travel to Egypt.
Carolena

anitas

I was in Egypt over the holidays. We spent 3 weeks there. Traveled from Cario to Sharm. Never once did I feel unsafe. It's a wonderful country and the Egyptians couldn't have been more helpful.

bulamrpaul

Hello,

First let me start off by saying that I am shocked and disappointed by the attitude of some of the previous posters answers to a genuine question from a fellow traveler (sorry you had to deal with that violetshadows). Steering away from the political/geography lessons presented by some posters (although important), I’ll focus on trying to help you with what will make a more rewarding travel experience. I unfortunately can’t provide much insight on Egypt (though we plan on going there soon), but I can give some input on Cyprus. My wife and I have been living here for the past month and a half (my wife is here on a short term assignment for work), and have done quite a bit of exploring around the island. Before coming to Cyprus, we had imagined scenes from Greece (whitewashed buildings looking out over the ocean, sandy idyllic paradises, etc.), but have been hard pressed to find it. We’ve been fortunate enough to do quite a bit of international traveling, and although an interesting small country, Cyprus lacks most of the charms of other European destinations. Closer to you, the Cinque Terra or the drive along the Almafi Coast into Sicily proved much more rewarding travel destinations in our opinion. Cyprus does have a few historical sites and cute areas tucked away here and there, but it seems that sitting at one large scale fancy/expensive hotel on a beach is the draw for most of the tourists here (with the occasional jaunt into the accompanying attractive villages and mountains). Unfortunately, if you couple the drawbacks with the dismal exchange rate, I personally feel Cyprus drops relatively low on the “top places to visit” scale. If your ideal spring break plan is clubbing, boozing, and sitting on a beach with an occasional stroll to a tacky pub (hence go to Agia Napa) put Cyprus on the list, otherwise you might want to consider somewhere else. Additionally, I’m not sure whether the temperature over the next few weeks is going to get warm enough to make beach lounging comfortable. With all this said, if you do end up coming to Cyprus, I’m happy to provide some advice on places to see. Happy travels…you’ll have a wonderful time wherever you decide to go!

alanRow

"In the recent past there have been very many ugly violent incidents related to westerners"

"Very many" = "very few" in reality, certainly less than the number of British tourists (for example) who get robbed, assaulted, raped or killed in Florida (for example) each year

If you are American, merely by leaving the US you make yourself safer & less likely to come to harm (with a few exceptions like Iraq or Afghanistan)

Grcxx3

Okay - although this post should probably be on the Africa/ME board...let me chime in. We lived in Egypt for 4 years and loved it. We moved there just before 9/11 and moved away this past summer.

Regarding some of the recent newsworthy activity..

There were bombings in Taba (next to the Israeli border) in Oct 2004. These were specifically targeted at hotels frequented by Israelis. This is just part of the sad, but ongoing problem.

There were several bombings in Sharm el Sheik in July 2005. While these attacks did hit the tourist area - what the reports didn't say is that the attempts were not as successful as planned because Egyptian police did manage to stop the terrorists before they reached their ultimate destinations.

I thought the bus accident involved Australian tourists and was not - to my knowledge - terrorist related. Anyone who has been to Egypt knows how crazy they drive. This could happen anywhere.

As for the ferry, the sinking of this vessel was tragic. It was a ferry for locals, not something that an visitor would EVER take. The water in the Red Sea was unusually rough and the ship probably should never have set sail.

For whatever small risk there is of something happening.....are the pyramids worth it? You'd better believe it! There is nothing like that first glimpse of those marvelous structures - they are magical. Then there are the tombs and temples in Luxor........WOW!

The Egyptian people are some of the kindest folks on earth. But - be forewarned - they are also some of the most skilled salesmen! The "hounding" from the various vendors can be a little annoying, but it is often quite creative and amusing.

We had friends on the beaches in Thailand, the Maldives, and coastal Kenya when the tsunami hit in Dec 2005. We had friends riding the underground in London when the attacks hit in July 2005. Any my parents live in New Orleans and went through Hurricane Katrina.

In short - horrible things - both natural and manmade - happen! You can't put your life on hold because of "what ifs."

I know this is probably too late to influence your spring break plans - but at some point - GO to Egypt and enjoy it. It is a wonderful place!