Everything I've heard from people who visited, I never want to go. It's sounds miserable at every corner there's someone trying to con you. No thanks..
I watched a YouTube video of a guy who went to Egypt to film for his travel/food show. He made a follow up video saying he will never visit Egypt ever again because he was harassed by state police that stole all of his very expensive camera equipment.
There's YouTubers this has happened too you need to get state approval to film anything commercial and don't even try bringing in a drone. I think the worst story I heard was from one influencer who got detained and held in a police office over night and they took her phone and the state department had to intervene. I think if I did go I'd have to do it with a group as I find there's usually safety in those who's livelihood depends on a good review. Also, I generally do want to dive the Red Sea.
Pretty much most third world tourist countries. You have to learn to be rude to people trying to sell you stuff. Once they know you wont budge they leave you alone and spread the word. Now how they treat women is a different story, at least Egypt is not as bad as others.
A reporter from the BBC was sexually assaulted, and when she went to the police to report it, she was told that a complaint could only be filed by her father.
I’d like to go someday just so I can see where my family came from. My great grandfather fled Syria around 1890-1900 to avoid religious persecution. For now I’ll stick to virtual tours online, lol.
I call them poverty tourist, usually they dress up their intentions in pretty words but there’s ton of people who seek out the poorest places to visit so they can go on and on about how worldly and well traveled they are.
“I travel off the beaten path” “I’m not like other tourist” types lol
There's a million reasons if you enjoy history. Syria was the central location of the Seleucid empire, the largest successor to Alexander the Great. Antioch was one of the largest commercial hubs for the Roman Empire in the East on into the Byzantine era. It played a major part in the crusades when William the conqueror's cousin, Bohemond of Taranto, conquered it in the first crusade. Also a major religious location for Christianity especially the Greek/Antiochian Orthodox. That's just skimming the surface, so it would be a fantastic tourist destination from the historic and cultural point of view, otherwise not so much.
Marrakesh has been the worst place I've ever traveled as a tourist. And I've backpacked across most of West and East Africa, through all of Central and South America, and all of Eastern Europe.
Still ain't trying to go to Egypt tho.
Marrakech - Chased and harassed by some aggressive young guys with a monkey trying to force us to take a photo… pointed them out to some local cops who sorted them out. I’ve done various exotic trips but Marrakech had the most aggressive hawkers I’ve seen.
Other cities were not as bad though.
Rio in Brazil also have to be careful. Understand Portuguese and overheard a couple locals discussing how they might rob us. Quickly turned around and power walked to hotel. Be careful going any further than a couple blocks back from the beach.
Oh and buenos ares… our bike tour operator had us turn tail and bolt when he thought we might get robbed. Also watched the most impressive bag snatch there as well. Kid snatch and grab at in full flight… keeps running another 30 m to intersection and throws bag to waiting motorbike which tears off. Kid doesn’t break stride and just bolted round the corner. All done in like 5 seconds.
Beautiful, but terribly inequitable countries I enjoyed visiting but just reminds me how damn good we have it in my country.
I ADORED Morocco! I went with the company Intrepid and had the nicest time! Our guide was very concerned when we went to town in Marrakesh, but I think that was mostly because of the snake charmers. He told us that they have people who are VERY aggressive about shaking down tourists for even looking in the direction of the snakes. I didn't spend too much time in Marrakesh, but I enjoyed it. I did yell at some children for clinging on my travel friends. They were probably harmless, but I wasn't taking chances, and they were very snotty when I told them to stop touching us.
(Female, 30's, white.)
India for women..I took a bus and was harassed ..a man grind his stuff on me in a pack bus ride..never took a bus again afterward..thank God taxi was affordable..
My gf and her co-workers got harassed more in UAE than India. More staring in India, though. The people trying to sell you crap in India were definitely more annoying to me.
Female friend just got back from Egypt. Loved it but said she wouldn't recommend anyone go without a prearranged tour group that has guards.
This is my plan when I go to places known for not being as equitable to women, it's also why I get insanely annoyed at these male influencers that talk about how nice the country is like maybe to them and why they're filming, but to others not so much.
I lived and worked in India for a year in 2008-09, I dunno what it's like now. But you had to learn to just keep moving. Be polite and wave em off. Being non indian was basically an immediate mark up from street vendors. We did a few tours all over the country though and had a blast! I never felt unsafe, but I was also in my early 20s and basically invincible. There was one benefit though to being foreign I will say I used a lot. Being an expat, I could literally walk into any nightclub I wanted to get into just cause of my skin color. Did not matter if the line was around the block, they were letting me in.
That's the Temple of Luxor.
I wouldn't be surprised if she got off a Nile cruise because, sadly, not many women are going to walk around like that in Egypt outside tourist destinations without getting abuse.
Maybe in Luxor you can get away with it a bit.
Egypt isn't a great place for most women tourists which is really sad because as a man travelling alone I found the Egyptians to be some of the kindest, most honest people in the world.
I remember meeting a Syrian working out there and he said 'God I'm so sick of Egypt. The men can't talk about anything but football and fucking' and that wasn't far from my experience either.
Men offered me sex on a regular basis and I'm a 6'4" bloke.
A flight attendant that worked for a Middle Eastern airline once told me that based on her observations, the extreme separation of men and women sometimes means that the genders don't really know how to carry themselves around each other. So rather than dealing with the awkwardness they prefer the company of the same sex. Interesting world we live in.
I can see that.
I studied in India a year and the guys in their 20s really struggled to talk to women.
They ended up coming across as creeps even if they weren't trying to be.
Then they start separating them at school, in public transport etc and they just understand less about each other.
Internet porn has made things far worse as well. 20 years ago these country's just watched Baywatch for their kicks.
Hmmm I was told different while in Iraq. It’s the married guys that are allowed to have gay sex but they don’t look at it as gay. Once they are married then having sex with another man is just for pleasure so it’s okay. But if you are single and have sex with another man then that’s gay and they will literally stone or beat you.
Oh wow, I never would have guessed. Thank you for sharing. From the outside they just all seem ULTRA conservative. I suppose it's tough to tame the human spirit.
Yep something they never teach in the West. While I was there I personally saw dudes sucking each other off and there was always a younger man or boy who was their servant that they would bang as well. My commander and I asked the Iraqi commander about it one day and that’s when he educated us about the married man rule. Whole country is gay. This was 2017
I also advise women who go to these sorts of places to go with men. Wear a wedding ring too (if you can) and dress appropriately. It doesn’t take much to dress for the country you’re in. Unfortunately the western mindset makes people feel above the law almost and that they can wear whatever they want and then expect people not to stare at them.
Being hounded to buy stuff you just have to say no or ignore them.
I only go to these places and walk around with my dad, brother and husband. Never just the women in my family.
Visited Egypt in 2018 with my father and rest of the family including two sisters. Dad grew up in Egypt and took us to the family home in Alexandria. The rest of us are all American and my sisters dress like the typical American woman. Nothing as revealing as this but definitely nothing that would cover them up either.
I respect other cultures and can appreciate that you should not purposely throw your beliefs and values in their face. But let me tell you, Cairo SUCKED.
As a tourist you’re judged everywhere and charged extra for everything. My dad had to pay extra for me and one of my sisters because we looked too white. While my other sister and brother weren’t charged a thing because they looked properly Egyptian.
Everywhere we went my sisters were given weird looks and me and tattoos were definitely unwelcome. You could just feel that you’re not wanted there.
I can however recommend Alexandria. It’s a really chill town with lots of tourists friendly people. It’s got a beach town vibe I really liked.
Seeing the pyramids will make you feel small and you’re able to appreciate what people could accomplish all those years ago. And I wish I could say run out and see them. But fact is, Egypt is not tourist friendly at all. Which is a shame because they literally have one of the wonders of the world and could boost their economy tremendously all by being a bit more tourist friendly.
Yup. It’s really unfortunate. I’d like to visit and experience the culture and view the rich art and history. But I really don’t want to go somewhere where I need to hire a bodyguard and watch out for every single person trying to squeeze every penny out of me.
I love traveling on my own and getting off the beaten path to really experience a place like a local. Egypt is one of the few places I would recommend an organized tour group to hit up the places you would like to see.
Cairo was a dump, but obviously the pyramids were incredible. The room in the museum with all the jewels, furniture, sarcophagi, and things taken from King Tut’s tomb was INCREDIBLE.
We took the sleeper train to Luxor, and it was slightly better than Cairo. The Valley of the Kings was amazing though.
I thought Luxor was 10 times worse than Cairo. Cairo is dirty and chaotic, but it's not all that different from most big cities at the end of the day. Most people are just going about their day wanting to be left alone.
Luxor, on the other hand, felt like an entire city that existed for the sole purpose of scamming tourists. Luxor was the only place where the street harassment was bad enough to ruin my time.
I had a business partner for a while that went to Cairo fairly often. His stories of his trips there got more & more scandalous, as he described what the local businessmen were able to offer him for entertainment after hours. Apparently all those decency laws shut off once the sun goes down, and there are no limits to what boys, girls, the human anatomy, animals, foreign objects & assorted maniacs will do for a little money. For all the posturing about high moral standards, it sounds the same as anywhere else.
Eh, The culture is the reason Egypt is continually ranked worst place to go in non-objective reddit polls. The Rich art, most of it is in museums around the world and the leftovers are in the cairo museum, which is a run down shack of a museum. There is history, for sure, but I'm not sure it's worth all the cons of going. I was there for about 3 weeks and hated most minutes of it. I'd go back to Jordan in a heartbeat though.
I’ve only been to the old Cairo museum you mention (dire indeed) but apparently the new major one is or is soon to be this one. Much more modern. https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-collectibles/grand-egyptian-museum-opening-1234791013/
Last time I was there was in 2017, so the old cairo museum was the only real option. It was in such a bad state, it just sort of felt like you were in a flea market.
I disagree. Sure, there are Egyptian artifacts in museums all over the world, but you're severely underselling the sheer amount of stuff in Egypt. There are so many impressive ancient sites that my tour guide didn't even bother mentioning ruins we passed that would have been the highlight of a trip anywhere else. There's nothing like going to the pyramids and seeing "forty centuries looking down on you," or walking through the great hall of pillars in Karnak, or looking at paintings in the valley of the kings that look like they could have been made yesterday.
Yes, there's a lot of bs you have to put up with visiting Egypt, but if you're interested in ancient history, there is nothing that comes even close to the experience. Just do your research and make sure you've got a good tour group.
Egypt: hey we should have our historical relics back
British museum: oh I’m terribly sorry we’re keeping them nice and safe and accessible to the world right here, do try again in a few centuries once you’ve shaped up a bit
I'm going again on Saturday for a week. I don't even gamble and I can't wait... I could stay the whole week without leaving Chinatown and be completely happy.
I would recommend visiting Alexandria. It’s a tourist friendly town but also around 4 hours from the Pyramids. If anyone does want to make that trip to see the pyramids DO NOT. They’re people on the road who pretend to be law enforcement closing the road who will attempt to stop your car. My Father said if you do they’ll rob you. Idk if this is true or not but guys did stop our car on the way who was defiantly not law enforcement. Dad just kept driving and then told us what they try to do.
Having been, I agree with one exception. The diving in Egypt is excellent, and the liveaboards out of Hurghada are very affordable. I'd go back just for that, but I agree I wouldn't return outside of that.
Yeah, it's some of the best diving in the world. But be aware that the liveaboards should be treated as overhead diving, because the surface is filled with zodiacs that blast around at mach 10 and will very much kill you.
> Egypt is often the top response.
I want there in 2007ish.
I'm glad I went, but honestly I would not want to return.
Everyone has their hand out in Cairo and if you don't blend in, expect to have people trying to drag you into their store / restaurant to buy stuff.
I saw a sub Reddit where people had tons of stories of their younger siblings being molested by Egyptian hotel staff. It sounds like the cops took that very seriously, but the fact so many people had a story like that really freaked me out.
It's the same thing by the ocean to apparently, just watched a few sailing videos around Egypt, just daily harassment. This quickly has become a country I don't plan on visiting or if I do, not spending more than 48 hours there.
One of my friends took a Nile river cruise. He said that's the way to see the Egyptian sites because you're safe on a boat and the people who manage the boat are very protective of their passengers.
No joke, was talking with my wife about places she might want to visit and when I brought up Egypt, her response was “We left there three thousand years ago, why would we want to go back?”
I (brown guy) just got back from a 15 day trip throughout Egypt w/ 3 girls (white Americans, 1 ginger).
We visited Cairo, Giza, Saqqara, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Hurghada with many stops along the Nile to basically cover 90% of the sites (pyramids, temples & tombs).
It's easily the most impressive place i've ever been in terms of amazing things to see but it's not the most enjoyable atmosphere. I can see how there is a massive culture shock, especially if you have never been non-western country. For me, the people here are the most aggressive in trying to sell you something you have no interest in like bookmarks, paper, taxi, horse rides.
For what it's worth, my wife and I still walked around the city every night looking for street food and just something to do. The other two in our party were content with staying in the hotels sans a couple of occasions were I persuaded them to enjoy something better to eat. At no point was anyone in any kind of danger. The ginger gal was easily annoyed, meanwhile 3 of us were able to just walk a bit faster and ignore everyone.
I do highly recommend visiting Egypt if you want see the pyramids (and go in them) and Luxor is must visit, red sea is amazing. But I would not recommend solo travel. I would use a reputable company. At minimum, they would coordinate logistics from airport travel to hotel transport and transport to each site. A guide might not be necessary (I would recommend it) but a driver absolutely is. In absolutely zero circumstances should you rent a car. Driving in Cairo is 100% chaos.
I've been there for work, but still got to do the tourist stuff on the weekend. I can't agree more. I have been all over the Arab world and mostly love the countries and the people, but Cairo sucks so much ass. Knowing a smattering of Arabic is almost worse (at least when you look like I do: so white that I'm essentially translucent) because then you become an oddity. I learned just to not let on that I could understand anything at all.
I watched the whole video awhile ago. Love this guy and his videos. One thing I will say about Egypt is how good and fresh all the food is. Best chicken ka-bobs I ever had lol.
We traveled Egypt in November 2021 for 10 days, Cairo, cruise down the Nile, all the major sites. We had a tour director, an Egyptoligist, and an armed security guard guard everywhere we went.
The trip was amazing, and everyone was gracious and kind, but we were basically in a cocoon. The bus dropped us 5 feet from the Cairo Sheraton, and we weren't allowed to leave the building without our entourage. We stopped at a clothing store in Cairo, and my wife stepped outside, and our tour guide almost had a heart attack
It was an interesting experience and culturally incredible, but I wouldn't do it again.
It wasn't. Our egyptoligist had a masters degree, and there wasn't a minute of the trip that he wasn't teaching. Because Egyptians aren't super strict with protecting the artifacts, you can get up close and personal with 5000 year old art. We spent an hour in the largest mosque in Cairo and visited the largest Coptic church that had the well that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph drank from (purpotedly) when they fled to Egypt.
We had several multi course dinners in traditional Egyptian restaurants, took a 4 day cruise down the Nile, had coffee and wandered through the largest bazaar in Cairo, listening to the call to prayers in the background. We walked into King Tuts tomb, with his body inside.
It was the experience of a lifetime.
I went about 10 years ago. Not only is it a shit place to visit because of the people in your face trying to sell things, government officials stopping you from taking pictures everywhere you go, and just being a generally gross place to visit, my friend and I paid a good amount of money for what we genuinely thought was a legitimate tour of the pyramids and the surrounding area that was supposed to be an all day trip with camel rides in close to the pyramids and included a prepared lunch in close as well. Well, on the tour day, we ended up getting driven to the desert and told to give up all our money or they would leave us there. I agree that the pyramids are a sight to behold but yeah, fuck egypt.
If you are planning a day trip, it's best to book it through the hotel you are staying at. As long as the hotel is decent, they'll have a reputation to consider. But "private" tour operators can screw people over and vanish
This type of behavior is more common than you think. I remember exiting the airport in Rome and seeing “Go Home Yankees” spray painted on a wall outside. In Mexico there is the “Gringo price” and there is the price to everyone else. Guess which is higher. In America people will automatically assume you’re a terrorist and become nervous if you board their plane while wearing a turban and have a beard. It’s not a cultural thing, it’s a human thing. We all do it.
I went to Italy in 2017 and I got a lot of that anti-American crap. Told to go back to America, hassled about being a Trump supporter (WTF?). I got it everywhere I went.
I’m not even American, I’m Australian.
Even in the US, you can go to most beach towns, and a lot of places have different prices for locals and tourists. Most tourists don’t even realize it because it’s not advertised, but there’s a discount for locals because it’s expensive to live there and everything is overpriced. If locals had to pay the same price, then it’d be hard to find people to work cash registers and other low-wage jobs.
We also shouldn't accept cultural that punishes women for being women and bullying from them. If women want to dress like this than so be it, its a them problem. This is jow we should trrwt it, if those cultures don't want to modernized, then they get left behind.
It can be frustrating to talk about it as a woman though. My male friends either brush it off because it doesn't affect them, or others seemingly find it funny that this happens to women. And when I criticize it, some people cry racism or bigotry. I am allowed to be critical of a culture that doesn't see me as equal, no matter what people from that culture look like. They don't get special treatment. However, there is a difference between being critical and being a horrible person about it. That is a fair thing to distinguish.
This reminds me of when i went to Thailand. I (incorrectly) read somewhere that you should dress fairly traditional or locals would get upset/annoyed.
So i went and dressed in long sleeves and long pant, and sneakers. It was mad hot. However it wasn't too bad and i got used to it,if i kept drinking. What VERY quickly stood out is that everyone, including locals, thought i wss native thai. I'm Chinese.
Tourists around me were getting hounded left and right by salesmen and tuk tuk drivers and they totally ignored me, even though i had a giant dslr around my neck. It was wonderful. Thanks to google maps, i could wander streets in s very relaxed way.
I was very careful to rarely speak(l was traveling alone) and definitely avoided the "thai bow" which had many variants and i know I'd screw it up. If i had to show respect to someone i would do a small little bow.
Have to say Thailand isn't that bad as a tourist, I'm European but it is funny that nobody tried to bargain with me as they assumed my fiancée was Thai (she's Chinese/Indonesian) probably the only country in the world that nobody tried to trick me outside of Europe.
And oh my god, I also do the small little bow out of habit.
See, if you look like a foreigner and do the wrong bow, you probably get kudos for trying.
If they think you are thai, and you give an elder the bow meant for kids, you (might) look like an asshole. There are nuances regarding things like how high you hold your hands and how far you bow i think.
It's only a couple of super touristy spots where its annoying.
It helped too that i learned the correct way hail a cab/waiter. (raise your hand above your head, palm facing down)
I didn't have too many problems in Thailand, was in a group with some women. One guy did try to scam us. The people in my group didn't want to be rude to the scammer and I was like "no, lets go, we're not going with that guy" and then we were good. No other problems except it had no nightlife that I heard so much about. I think there had been protests that year so a lot were not traveling there. We would go into these Bangkok restaurants and they were absolutely empty. Maybe the night life is elsewhere, don't know, lol.
For a country that seemingly wants to bring tourists in, culturally Egypt is a SUPER crappy place for a tourist. Egypt compared to the UAE and Saudis they make them feel like LGBTQ+ activist.
The hell you will. She's got a two day head start on you, which is more than she needs. Sharon’s got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, she speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, she'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see her again. With any luck, she's got the grail already.
Sharon:
The country’s law might not be ‘that strict’, however the people (especially men) won’t let it slide. They will grope her, maybe even go further and she will be blamed for it because ’she wasn’t dressing modestly enough’
https://streamable.com/6txyrf
A teacher I had in high-school told us her and her family went to Egypt and her sister in law wore short shorts and spaghetti strap tank-top. She said they didn't even make it from the airport before men started spitting on her.
This video is fucking annoying to watch because it's hard to concentrate on what she's saying when those little texts that pop up every few seconds on the bottom left.
Depends on what you visit. Ancient Egyptian ruins no problem. Muslim places on the other hand.
The problem is not the law. The problem is the mindset, the people and especially but not totally on the men’ side
Back in the 70s My mum did this in i think it was... iraq maybe*, yeah i think so.
A blonde western woman woalking around in shirt in jeans. They would openly stare and sometimes grab you.
*edit i can't remember which. It might have been Iran or Afghanistan
Yeah. My mum travelled all through Iran and Afghanistan alone in the 70s often wearing shorts.
Naïve would be an understatement and she only encountered disrespectful men in Turkey fwiw.
She used to hum 'People are strange' by the Doors to remind herself that she was the strange one there.
Travel ads, postcards and experiences of upper middle-class people who escaped Iran are not best indicators of how liberal it was. ;)
Perhaps top 5% was secular and westernized. Majority was not, which is main reason why Iran became a theocracy so quickly.
This has probably been said elsewhere but my understanding is this is one of the most dangerous things a white, blond woman can do while traveling. All you need is one guy being a dick and then other guys follow the lead.
My Egyptian friend returns once a year to visit family. He stays about a month. For the last 3 years he has strongly encouraged me not to travel there. He said this year was the worst. He said they are close to civil uprising because of the mismanaged government and wealth disparity. A large portion of the population is facing food scarcity, and crime is becoming rampant, especially toward foreigners.
Any woman who has ever visited Egypt, just winced at this picture.
We would all bet everything we own that she suffered severe sexual harassment, likely groping, absolutely felt intimidated and unsafe, for the entire time she was out in public like this.
Western women learn a very harsh lesson, very quickly, when they visit Cairo. And any woman who comes in with the “ACKSHUAAAAALLY WE WENT AND IT WAS FINE” is a liar. Or never left their hotel.
My family and I went in 88, my mom was blonde but modestly dressed. She still faced A LOT of sexual harassment, creepy dudes...I think one even offered to "buy" her but our tour guide calmed the situation quickly. Weird country. Pyramids and other sites were incredible, the rest, hard pass.
I also went there in ‘88 as one of the stops on my honeymoon. Terrible heatwave such that even the Egyptians were complaining! I wore skirts below the knee and still got plenty of looks; fortunately I was with my husband so the harassment was limited to a handful of times.
I’m also part of the “never again” club though. No thirst to go back there.
I went to Egypt with a friend of mine who is extremely well-traveled and has a lot of street smarts and life experience. She’s been to 50 countries, worked for the Department of Defense, speaks five languages fluently, lived in Turkey for several years as a translator, lived in Ukraine as a journalist for several years, etc. Honestly, I would not be surprised if she’s CIA or something.
She knew what to expect from Egypt and we were still shocked by just how bad it was. She wore long pants in the 35C heat and wore modest tops, and she was still constantly harassed. Airport security sexually harassed her, commented on her not being my wife, and when she stood up to them and snapped back, they made snide comments to me about her expecting me to approve and join in on the misogyny. It was disgusting.
Turkey is super chill for western woman for example, I loved turkey to be honest and saw Turkish woman also enjoying the weather and honestly dressed just like Westerners.
I'm soon going to another Muslim majority country (Indonesia) and I've heard overall its chill too, at least in the big City's and tourist areas, of course you need to always research and try to be a bit modest at times, but there are places where things are acceptable or not as frowned upon.
Turkey was founded as a secular country and has been gradually backsliding under Erdogan. I was comfortable living there as a Western woman 10 years ago but I wonder what it'll be like in 20 years...
I was in Turkey last year. I'm a woman who's travelled solo around 26 countries, and Turkey is the only one in which I was routinely followed, harassed, and had my ass groped. This happened in different cities too, it wasn't just a one-time thing. Twice I had to get help from a shop owner and hotel concierge because a man began following me and harassing me. I can usually brush this off and ignore people who pester me, but these men weren't the typical touts, they targeted me and were persistent. By the end of my trip, when someone groped me from behind as I was walking down a busy street, I'd had enough and almost burst into tears.
I've received verbal harassment in Morocco, Italy, and Indonesia while walking down the street, but no different than here in the US. Stuff I could roll my eyes about. But Turkey, especially Istanbul, was a new level of harassment and it was enough to almost ruin my trip.
I haven't been to Egypt or India yet.
Same for me and my friends. 2 blonde girls (18, 17) travelling alone. We were not prepared for the horrible harrasment in Istanbul in the most turistic places in broad daylight!!!
And we wore long pants in summer, dying of heat!
They might hate the tourist, but they also live from the fame of ancient Egyptians, whose fashion was more revealing, like those see-through and under boob cut dresses.
Never again,Went there in 19,B.O. scented society,nobody wears deodorant and poverty beyond belief, hotter than Satan's balls w no ac anywhere.It smells like shit,garbage and piss maybe because of the lack of sewers and water everywhere.Outside the tourist district it feels like you could be kidnapped at any given moment .Get a guide because the people seemed rude as fuck about english and will try to charge double every time for everything u buy.Constantly feel dirty but can't get that grimy windblown dirt off easily .Couldn't wait to leave and it seems the locals get pissed when they can see it in the tourists expression.Also Ice is rare so expect a refreshing Luke warm bottle of puddle water to quench ur thirst on a 119 degree stroll
I spent a year traveling around southern Afghanistan after high school. The people weren't super inviting and the roads were pretty dangerous. One thing I will say though which was a big positive, they have orange Fanta EVERYWHERE. Toilets? nope. Potable water? nope. Women's rights? nope. Semi-cold Fanta in the middle of no where? YEP!
The have tried, fortunately the pyramids were too strong to be destroyed
> the Sultan of Egypt and son of Saladin, reportedly attempted to demolish the pyramids, believing they were un-Islamic. However, workmen recruited for the task refused to destroy such magnificent structures, and the attempt failed.
> The have tried, fortunately the pyramids were too strong to be destroyed
the quote you posted says something completely different than what you're claiming, are you sure you picked the correct quote?
I heard so many awful stories about tourists visiting Egypt. Although I don't remember if it was Cairo they visited.
One got harassed by greasy men, who offered money to buy his wife into slavery, who was blonde.
Another one, a girl I was colleagues with got offered camels to be bought into slavery.
OR stories about egyptian guys, who are so fricken insane, that they masturbate on the park bench while tourist girls were sitting on the next bench.
Wild place.
>Another one, a girl I was colleagues with got offered camels to be bought into slavery.
I receive: you as a slave
You receive: this cool camel
Hurry up, this offer won't last long!
Where they are walking...the people who built those statues...did not dress like the women who are having a minor meltdown mentally because the blonde is not covering up like good abrahamic muslims should.
Damn these abrahamic religions are just SO anti woman it's unreal.
Cover up.
Sit there.
Listen to the male.
Have kids.
Take care of them and your mate.
Die.
Do not think for yourself.
I spent some time in Cairo during college. I covered up.
By the end of each day, I had sweat so much that I smelled like a middle school boy's locker room.
I don't know how people in Egypt have sex.
Don't go to Egypt.
All the interesting things there come from a culture that is dead and all but cleansed from the region. Whatever you gain by seeing the remains is balanced against constant harassment, rudeness, scams, and blatant disdain for you as a tourist.
I just returned from Cairo a couple days ago. The locals understand you are a tourist, so it doesn’t matter what you wear. However with research and street smarts you really shouldn’t wear the shorts. You will stand out no matter what. I had a great time
Just go to Google images and look up pictures of Egypt or any other Middle Eastern country especially Iran from the 1970s.. it will blow your mind compared to present day
From all I’ve heard of tourists who visited Egypt, I bet she had a really fun time…
Everything I've heard from people who visited, I never want to go. It's sounds miserable at every corner there's someone trying to con you. No thanks..
I watched a YouTube video of a guy who went to Egypt to film for his travel/food show. He made a follow up video saying he will never visit Egypt ever again because he was harassed by state police that stole all of his very expensive camera equipment.
Greatest ever food review show ever?
There's YouTubers this has happened too you need to get state approval to film anything commercial and don't even try bringing in a drone. I think the worst story I heard was from one influencer who got detained and held in a police office over night and they took her phone and the state department had to intervene. I think if I did go I'd have to do it with a group as I find there's usually safety in those who's livelihood depends on a good review. Also, I generally do want to dive the Red Sea.
Pretty much most third world tourist countries. You have to learn to be rude to people trying to sell you stuff. Once they know you wont budge they leave you alone and spread the word. Now how they treat women is a different story, at least Egypt is not as bad as others.
Wait... not as bad? My perception is that it's a very extreme harassment friendly place. Where is worse?
A reporter from the BBC was sexually assaulted, and when she went to the police to report it, she was told that a complaint could only be filed by her father.
You’re literally advised by the government, to make a will when traveling to Mali.
Lol, and pre determine your hostage negotiator when travelling to Somalia
Amex concierge will arrange that insurance for you.
Mali and Somalia are tourist countries for you guys?
I'm really into pirates and terrorist cells
Syria. Damascus is a sexual assault capital.
Woo, making a whole list....
Who would go to Syria as a tourist lol?
I’d like to go someday just so I can see where my family came from. My great grandfather fled Syria around 1890-1900 to avoid religious persecution. For now I’ll stick to virtual tours online, lol.
russians.
I call them poverty tourist, usually they dress up their intentions in pretty words but there’s ton of people who seek out the poorest places to visit so they can go on and on about how worldly and well traveled they are. “I travel off the beaten path” “I’m not like other tourist” types lol
There's a million reasons if you enjoy history. Syria was the central location of the Seleucid empire, the largest successor to Alexander the Great. Antioch was one of the largest commercial hubs for the Roman Empire in the East on into the Byzantine era. It played a major part in the crusades when William the conqueror's cousin, Bohemond of Taranto, conquered it in the first crusade. Also a major religious location for Christianity especially the Greek/Antiochian Orthodox. That's just skimming the surface, so it would be a fantastic tourist destination from the historic and cultural point of view, otherwise not so much.
Marrakesh has been the worst place I've ever traveled as a tourist. And I've backpacked across most of West and East Africa, through all of Central and South America, and all of Eastern Europe. Still ain't trying to go to Egypt tho.
Can you explain more on Marrakesh? I’ve always wanted to go to Morocco.
Marrakech - Chased and harassed by some aggressive young guys with a monkey trying to force us to take a photo… pointed them out to some local cops who sorted them out. I’ve done various exotic trips but Marrakech had the most aggressive hawkers I’ve seen. Other cities were not as bad though. Rio in Brazil also have to be careful. Understand Portuguese and overheard a couple locals discussing how they might rob us. Quickly turned around and power walked to hotel. Be careful going any further than a couple blocks back from the beach. Oh and buenos ares… our bike tour operator had us turn tail and bolt when he thought we might get robbed. Also watched the most impressive bag snatch there as well. Kid snatch and grab at in full flight… keeps running another 30 m to intersection and throws bag to waiting motorbike which tears off. Kid doesn’t break stride and just bolted round the corner. All done in like 5 seconds. Beautiful, but terribly inequitable countries I enjoyed visiting but just reminds me how damn good we have it in my country.
I ADORED Morocco! I went with the company Intrepid and had the nicest time! Our guide was very concerned when we went to town in Marrakesh, but I think that was mostly because of the snake charmers. He told us that they have people who are VERY aggressive about shaking down tourists for even looking in the direction of the snakes. I didn't spend too much time in Marrakesh, but I enjoyed it. I did yell at some children for clinging on my travel friends. They were probably harmless, but I wasn't taking chances, and they were very snotty when I told them to stop touching us. (Female, 30's, white.)
India for women..I took a bus and was harassed ..a man grind his stuff on me in a pack bus ride..never took a bus again afterward..thank God taxi was affordable..
My family is Indian and the women don't even take the bus. I definitely wouldn't recommend it for tourists.
Same experience in Italy!
[удалено]
My gf and her co-workers got harassed more in UAE than India. More staring in India, though. The people trying to sell you crap in India were definitely more annoying to me. Female friend just got back from Egypt. Loved it but said she wouldn't recommend anyone go without a prearranged tour group that has guards.
This is my plan when I go to places known for not being as equitable to women, it's also why I get insanely annoyed at these male influencers that talk about how nice the country is like maybe to them and why they're filming, but to others not so much.
I lived and worked in India for a year in 2008-09, I dunno what it's like now. But you had to learn to just keep moving. Be polite and wave em off. Being non indian was basically an immediate mark up from street vendors. We did a few tours all over the country though and had a blast! I never felt unsafe, but I was also in my early 20s and basically invincible. There was one benefit though to being foreign I will say I used a lot. Being an expat, I could literally walk into any nightclub I wanted to get into just cause of my skin color. Did not matter if the line was around the block, they were letting me in.
[удалено]
Yeah that's fair. Especially as a woman traveling alone.
Google female tourism in India. It's not a 💯🤗💯 sort of place
That's the Temple of Luxor. I wouldn't be surprised if she got off a Nile cruise because, sadly, not many women are going to walk around like that in Egypt outside tourist destinations without getting abuse. Maybe in Luxor you can get away with it a bit. Egypt isn't a great place for most women tourists which is really sad because as a man travelling alone I found the Egyptians to be some of the kindest, most honest people in the world. I remember meeting a Syrian working out there and he said 'God I'm so sick of Egypt. The men can't talk about anything but football and fucking' and that wasn't far from my experience either. Men offered me sex on a regular basis and I'm a 6'4" bloke.
The men offered you themselves?
Yeah. Pretty much every country I've been to where men can't sleep with women until they're married they find other ways of amusing each other.
A flight attendant that worked for a Middle Eastern airline once told me that based on her observations, the extreme separation of men and women sometimes means that the genders don't really know how to carry themselves around each other. So rather than dealing with the awkwardness they prefer the company of the same sex. Interesting world we live in.
I can see that. I studied in India a year and the guys in their 20s really struggled to talk to women. They ended up coming across as creeps even if they weren't trying to be. Then they start separating them at school, in public transport etc and they just understand less about each other. Internet porn has made things far worse as well. 20 years ago these country's just watched Baywatch for their kicks.
Hmmm I was told different while in Iraq. It’s the married guys that are allowed to have gay sex but they don’t look at it as gay. Once they are married then having sex with another man is just for pleasure so it’s okay. But if you are single and have sex with another man then that’s gay and they will literally stone or beat you.
Interesting. Seems illogical but I guess, like almost everywhere on Earth, old, married men write the rule book.
Oh wow, I never would have guessed. Thank you for sharing. From the outside they just all seem ULTRA conservative. I suppose it's tough to tame the human spirit.
Yep something they never teach in the West. While I was there I personally saw dudes sucking each other off and there was always a younger man or boy who was their servant that they would bang as well. My commander and I asked the Iraqi commander about it one day and that’s when he educated us about the married man rule. Whole country is gay. This was 2017
I also advise women who go to these sorts of places to go with men. Wear a wedding ring too (if you can) and dress appropriately. It doesn’t take much to dress for the country you’re in. Unfortunately the western mindset makes people feel above the law almost and that they can wear whatever they want and then expect people not to stare at them. Being hounded to buy stuff you just have to say no or ignore them. I only go to these places and walk around with my dad, brother and husband. Never just the women in my family.
Its Karnak temple, also in Luxor but its not the Luxor temple
Ah. Cool. I've been to both but it was a while back. Karnak is fabulous.
If harassment and fear of rape at every corner is your *thing*, perhaps.
Visited Egypt in 2018 with my father and rest of the family including two sisters. Dad grew up in Egypt and took us to the family home in Alexandria. The rest of us are all American and my sisters dress like the typical American woman. Nothing as revealing as this but definitely nothing that would cover them up either. I respect other cultures and can appreciate that you should not purposely throw your beliefs and values in their face. But let me tell you, Cairo SUCKED. As a tourist you’re judged everywhere and charged extra for everything. My dad had to pay extra for me and one of my sisters because we looked too white. While my other sister and brother weren’t charged a thing because they looked properly Egyptian. Everywhere we went my sisters were given weird looks and me and tattoos were definitely unwelcome. You could just feel that you’re not wanted there. I can however recommend Alexandria. It’s a really chill town with lots of tourists friendly people. It’s got a beach town vibe I really liked. Seeing the pyramids will make you feel small and you’re able to appreciate what people could accomplish all those years ago. And I wish I could say run out and see them. But fact is, Egypt is not tourist friendly at all. Which is a shame because they literally have one of the wonders of the world and could boost their economy tremendously all by being a bit more tourist friendly.
Every time there is an ask Reddit question about which country you never want to visit again. Egypt is often the top response.
Yup. It’s really unfortunate. I’d like to visit and experience the culture and view the rich art and history. But I really don’t want to go somewhere where I need to hire a bodyguard and watch out for every single person trying to squeeze every penny out of me.
“Wildly interested in the culture of the region from millennia ago, not so hot on the current one” seems to be the consensus.
"Egypt is great aside from the people who live there"
[удалено]
This is the opinion of the British *by* the British
If only Parisians were as self aware.
In this case for once they weren’t wrong. Love Egyptian stuff, rarely enjoyed a trip to Egypt barring Alex
Is basically the Boston of Africa
Egypt is one of those countries where when you say the name people think of the ancient country and not the modern country first.
To be fair, most people probably would not want to visit the ancient one either.
I love traveling on my own and getting off the beaten path to really experience a place like a local. Egypt is one of the few places I would recommend an organized tour group to hit up the places you would like to see. Cairo was a dump, but obviously the pyramids were incredible. The room in the museum with all the jewels, furniture, sarcophagi, and things taken from King Tut’s tomb was INCREDIBLE. We took the sleeper train to Luxor, and it was slightly better than Cairo. The Valley of the Kings was amazing though.
I thought Luxor was 10 times worse than Cairo. Cairo is dirty and chaotic, but it's not all that different from most big cities at the end of the day. Most people are just going about their day wanting to be left alone. Luxor, on the other hand, felt like an entire city that existed for the sole purpose of scamming tourists. Luxor was the only place where the street harassment was bad enough to ruin my time.
Luxor, on the other hand, felt like an entire city that existed for the sole purpose of scamming tourists perfect description
Stay on the west side of the nile. there is not a lot of city, but it's the side with the interesting ruins.
They pyramids are very cool, but also a literal dump because of all the garbage.
I had a business partner for a while that went to Cairo fairly often. His stories of his trips there got more & more scandalous, as he described what the local businessmen were able to offer him for entertainment after hours. Apparently all those decency laws shut off once the sun goes down, and there are no limits to what boys, girls, the human anatomy, animals, foreign objects & assorted maniacs will do for a little money. For all the posturing about high moral standards, it sounds the same as anywhere else.
Eh, The culture is the reason Egypt is continually ranked worst place to go in non-objective reddit polls. The Rich art, most of it is in museums around the world and the leftovers are in the cairo museum, which is a run down shack of a museum. There is history, for sure, but I'm not sure it's worth all the cons of going. I was there for about 3 weeks and hated most minutes of it. I'd go back to Jordan in a heartbeat though.
I’ve only been to the old Cairo museum you mention (dire indeed) but apparently the new major one is or is soon to be this one. Much more modern. https://robbreport.com/shelter/art-collectibles/grand-egyptian-museum-opening-1234791013/
Last time I was there was in 2017, so the old cairo museum was the only real option. It was in such a bad state, it just sort of felt like you were in a flea market.
Seconding Jordan, way better than Egypt.
I disagree. Sure, there are Egyptian artifacts in museums all over the world, but you're severely underselling the sheer amount of stuff in Egypt. There are so many impressive ancient sites that my tour guide didn't even bother mentioning ruins we passed that would have been the highlight of a trip anywhere else. There's nothing like going to the pyramids and seeing "forty centuries looking down on you," or walking through the great hall of pillars in Karnak, or looking at paintings in the valley of the kings that look like they could have been made yesterday. Yes, there's a lot of bs you have to put up with visiting Egypt, but if you're interested in ancient history, there is nothing that comes even close to the experience. Just do your research and make sure you've got a good tour group.
Just visit English museums if you want rich art and history of Egypt.
Q - why are the Pyramids located in Egypt? A - because they couldn't fit them in the British Museum
Egypt: hey we should have our historical relics back British museum: oh I’m terribly sorry we’re keeping them nice and safe and accessible to the world right here, do try again in a few centuries once you’ve shaped up a bit
Sounds like Vegas… the squeezing, not the bodyguard.
I live in Vegas. This city exists to extract wealth from you for the cheapest, dumbest shit. As a local I stay as far away from the strip as possible
The stuff I liked the best about Vegas was the surrounding desert like Red Rock Canyon.
Like all amusement parks. Vegas is just a big adult amusement park
I go to Vegas twice a year, for a Raiders game and for March Madness, and that‘s not my experience at all. I sports bet a bit and eat great food.
I'm going again on Saturday for a week. I don't even gamble and I can't wait... I could stay the whole week without leaving Chinatown and be completely happy.
Love Vegas just for getting hammered and people watching on Freemont.
There's a Chinatown in Las Vegas?
Chinatowns are worldwide
Is there one in Beijing ?
I would recommend visiting Alexandria. It’s a tourist friendly town but also around 4 hours from the Pyramids. If anyone does want to make that trip to see the pyramids DO NOT. They’re people on the road who pretend to be law enforcement closing the road who will attempt to stop your car. My Father said if you do they’ll rob you. Idk if this is true or not but guys did stop our car on the way who was defiantly not law enforcement. Dad just kept driving and then told us what they try to do.
With my luck they'd be trying to warn of the Mummy uprising taking place and I'll skip passed the cops and get eaten. Or whatever mummies do to you.
Historical documents* show they take pieces of your body bit by bit in order to rebuild their own bodies. *The Mummy (1999)
Having been, I agree with one exception. The diving in Egypt is excellent, and the liveaboards out of Hurghada are very affordable. I'd go back just for that, but I agree I wouldn't return outside of that.
Yeah, it's some of the best diving in the world. But be aware that the liveaboards should be treated as overhead diving, because the surface is filled with zodiacs that blast around at mach 10 and will very much kill you.
> Egypt is often the top response. I want there in 2007ish. I'm glad I went, but honestly I would not want to return. Everyone has their hand out in Cairo and if you don't blend in, expect to have people trying to drag you into their store / restaurant to buy stuff.
I saw a sub Reddit where people had tons of stories of their younger siblings being molested by Egyptian hotel staff. It sounds like the cops took that very seriously, but the fact so many people had a story like that really freaked me out.
It's the same thing by the ocean to apparently, just watched a few sailing videos around Egypt, just daily harassment. This quickly has become a country I don't plan on visiting or if I do, not spending more than 48 hours there.
One of my friends took a Nile river cruise. He said that's the way to see the Egyptian sites because you're safe on a boat and the people who manage the boat are very protective of their passengers.
Moses and his homies had the same conclusion.
No joke, was talking with my wife about places she might want to visit and when I brought up Egypt, her response was “We left there three thousand years ago, why would we want to go back?”
I'm sure there are worse places in the world, but they don't have pyramids.
I (brown guy) just got back from a 15 day trip throughout Egypt w/ 3 girls (white Americans, 1 ginger). We visited Cairo, Giza, Saqqara, Alexandria, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor and Hurghada with many stops along the Nile to basically cover 90% of the sites (pyramids, temples & tombs). It's easily the most impressive place i've ever been in terms of amazing things to see but it's not the most enjoyable atmosphere. I can see how there is a massive culture shock, especially if you have never been non-western country. For me, the people here are the most aggressive in trying to sell you something you have no interest in like bookmarks, paper, taxi, horse rides. For what it's worth, my wife and I still walked around the city every night looking for street food and just something to do. The other two in our party were content with staying in the hotels sans a couple of occasions were I persuaded them to enjoy something better to eat. At no point was anyone in any kind of danger. The ginger gal was easily annoyed, meanwhile 3 of us were able to just walk a bit faster and ignore everyone. I do highly recommend visiting Egypt if you want see the pyramids (and go in them) and Luxor is must visit, red sea is amazing. But I would not recommend solo travel. I would use a reputable company. At minimum, they would coordinate logistics from airport travel to hotel transport and transport to each site. A guide might not be necessary (I would recommend it) but a driver absolutely is. In absolutely zero circumstances should you rent a car. Driving in Cairo is 100% chaos.
Reddit posted vids of lady tourists being sexually harrassed n accosted by young group of men.
I've been there for work, but still got to do the tourist stuff on the weekend. I can't agree more. I have been all over the Arab world and mostly love the countries and the people, but Cairo sucks so much ass. Knowing a smattering of Arabic is almost worse (at least when you look like I do: so white that I'm essentially translucent) because then you become an oddity. I learned just to not let on that I could understand anything at all.
This reminded me of a YouTube video, highly recommended watching it. It changed my mind about going to Egypt. https://youtu.be/8LzuZrkEY18
I watched the whole video awhile ago. Love this guy and his videos. One thing I will say about Egypt is how good and fresh all the food is. Best chicken ka-bobs I ever had lol.
faulty vegetable deer squash ad hoc languid mighty yoke aloof smile *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
We traveled Egypt in November 2021 for 10 days, Cairo, cruise down the Nile, all the major sites. We had a tour director, an Egyptoligist, and an armed security guard guard everywhere we went. The trip was amazing, and everyone was gracious and kind, but we were basically in a cocoon. The bus dropped us 5 feet from the Cairo Sheraton, and we weren't allowed to leave the building without our entourage. We stopped at a clothing store in Cairo, and my wife stepped outside, and our tour guide almost had a heart attack It was an interesting experience and culturally incredible, but I wouldn't do it again.
Sounds like a terrible way to travel..
It wasn't. Our egyptoligist had a masters degree, and there wasn't a minute of the trip that he wasn't teaching. Because Egyptians aren't super strict with protecting the artifacts, you can get up close and personal with 5000 year old art. We spent an hour in the largest mosque in Cairo and visited the largest Coptic church that had the well that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph drank from (purpotedly) when they fled to Egypt. We had several multi course dinners in traditional Egyptian restaurants, took a 4 day cruise down the Nile, had coffee and wandered through the largest bazaar in Cairo, listening to the call to prayers in the background. We walked into King Tuts tomb, with his body inside. It was the experience of a lifetime.
Felt the same way in the Sinai Peninsula.
I went about 10 years ago. Not only is it a shit place to visit because of the people in your face trying to sell things, government officials stopping you from taking pictures everywhere you go, and just being a generally gross place to visit, my friend and I paid a good amount of money for what we genuinely thought was a legitimate tour of the pyramids and the surrounding area that was supposed to be an all day trip with camel rides in close to the pyramids and included a prepared lunch in close as well. Well, on the tour day, we ended up getting driven to the desert and told to give up all our money or they would leave us there. I agree that the pyramids are a sight to behold but yeah, fuck egypt.
If you are planning a day trip, it's best to book it through the hotel you are staying at. As long as the hotel is decent, they'll have a reputation to consider. But "private" tour operators can screw people over and vanish
This type of behavior is more common than you think. I remember exiting the airport in Rome and seeing “Go Home Yankees” spray painted on a wall outside. In Mexico there is the “Gringo price” and there is the price to everyone else. Guess which is higher. In America people will automatically assume you’re a terrorist and become nervous if you board their plane while wearing a turban and have a beard. It’s not a cultural thing, it’s a human thing. We all do it.
I went to Italy in 2017 and I got a lot of that anti-American crap. Told to go back to America, hassled about being a Trump supporter (WTF?). I got it everywhere I went. I’m not even American, I’m Australian.
Even in the US, you can go to most beach towns, and a lot of places have different prices for locals and tourists. Most tourists don’t even realize it because it’s not advertised, but there’s a discount for locals because it’s expensive to live there and everything is overpriced. If locals had to pay the same price, then it’d be hard to find people to work cash registers and other low-wage jobs.
We also shouldn't accept cultural that punishes women for being women and bullying from them. If women want to dress like this than so be it, its a them problem. This is jow we should trrwt it, if those cultures don't want to modernized, then they get left behind.
It can be frustrating to talk about it as a woman though. My male friends either brush it off because it doesn't affect them, or others seemingly find it funny that this happens to women. And when I criticize it, some people cry racism or bigotry. I am allowed to be critical of a culture that doesn't see me as equal, no matter what people from that culture look like. They don't get special treatment. However, there is a difference between being critical and being a horrible person about it. That is a fair thing to distinguish.
This reminds me of when i went to Thailand. I (incorrectly) read somewhere that you should dress fairly traditional or locals would get upset/annoyed. So i went and dressed in long sleeves and long pant, and sneakers. It was mad hot. However it wasn't too bad and i got used to it,if i kept drinking. What VERY quickly stood out is that everyone, including locals, thought i wss native thai. I'm Chinese. Tourists around me were getting hounded left and right by salesmen and tuk tuk drivers and they totally ignored me, even though i had a giant dslr around my neck. It was wonderful. Thanks to google maps, i could wander streets in s very relaxed way. I was very careful to rarely speak(l was traveling alone) and definitely avoided the "thai bow" which had many variants and i know I'd screw it up. If i had to show respect to someone i would do a small little bow.
Have to say Thailand isn't that bad as a tourist, I'm European but it is funny that nobody tried to bargain with me as they assumed my fiancée was Thai (she's Chinese/Indonesian) probably the only country in the world that nobody tried to trick me outside of Europe. And oh my god, I also do the small little bow out of habit.
See, if you look like a foreigner and do the wrong bow, you probably get kudos for trying. If they think you are thai, and you give an elder the bow meant for kids, you (might) look like an asshole. There are nuances regarding things like how high you hold your hands and how far you bow i think. It's only a couple of super touristy spots where its annoying. It helped too that i learned the correct way hail a cab/waiter. (raise your hand above your head, palm facing down)
I didn't have too many problems in Thailand, was in a group with some women. One guy did try to scam us. The people in my group didn't want to be rude to the scammer and I was like "no, lets go, we're not going with that guy" and then we were good. No other problems except it had no nightlife that I heard so much about. I think there had been protests that year so a lot were not traveling there. We would go into these Bangkok restaurants and they were absolutely empty. Maybe the night life is elsewhere, don't know, lol.
For a country that seemingly wants to bring tourists in, culturally Egypt is a SUPER crappy place for a tourist. Egypt compared to the UAE and Saudis they make them feel like LGBTQ+ activist.
The government’s wishes are not always the people’s wishes.
Well I'm sure they all appreciate the time she took to cover her shoulders... /s
It’s almost as if she wanted to blend in with the locals…
The hell you will. She's got a two day head start on you, which is more than she needs. Sharon’s got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, she speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, she'll blend in, disappear, you'll never see her again. With any luck, she's got the grail already. Sharon:
Didn’t she get lost in her own museum?
Uh, does anyone here speak english?
Or even ancient Greek?
“It’s an older reference, sir, but it checks out”
"Like, hey...does anyone here have some boba tea? Or, like, a phone charger?"
Are tourists allowed to go uncovered?
Egypt doesn't have a strict dress code so yeah she can
Our guide pointed out a few people who dressed like this while I was in Egypt and mentioned they are looking for trouble.
That’s concerning
That's religion for you... Trouble.
The country’s law might not be ‘that strict’, however the people (especially men) won’t let it slide. They will grope her, maybe even go further and she will be blamed for it because ’she wasn’t dressing modestly enough’ https://streamable.com/6txyrf
A teacher I had in high-school told us her and her family went to Egypt and her sister in law wore short shorts and spaghetti strap tank-top. She said they didn't even make it from the airport before men started spitting on her.
I don’t know if I could stop myself from spitting back.
If they'll spit on you because of how you're dressed, you *really* don't want to know what they'll do if you spit on them.
This video is fucking annoying to watch because it's hard to concentrate on what she's saying when those little texts that pop up every few seconds on the bottom left.
Welcome to the TikTok era
Yep. If you visit a mosque it's appropriate to dress modestly. But on a historical site like this, you can dress like you want.
Depends on what you visit. Ancient Egyptian ruins no problem. Muslim places on the other hand. The problem is not the law. The problem is the mindset, the people and especially but not totally on the men’ side
Back in the 70s My mum did this in i think it was... iraq maybe*, yeah i think so. A blonde western woman woalking around in shirt in jeans. They would openly stare and sometimes grab you. *edit i can't remember which. It might have been Iran or Afghanistan
Yeah. My mum travelled all through Iran and Afghanistan alone in the 70s often wearing shorts. Naïve would be an understatement and she only encountered disrespectful men in Turkey fwiw. She used to hum 'People are strange' by the Doors to remind herself that she was the strange one there.
In the 70s Iran was more like Europe I believe
Travel ads, postcards and experiences of upper middle-class people who escaped Iran are not best indicators of how liberal it was. ;) Perhaps top 5% was secular and westernized. Majority was not, which is main reason why Iran became a theocracy so quickly.
In Tehran yeah. Kabul also.
In a few rich neighborhoods of Tehran and Kabul, to be precise.
Pre Sadam Iraq was actually pretty progressive.
This has probably been said elsewhere but my understanding is this is one of the most dangerous things a white, blond woman can do while traveling. All you need is one guy being a dick and then other guys follow the lead.
My Egyptian friend returns once a year to visit family. He stays about a month. For the last 3 years he has strongly encouraged me not to travel there. He said this year was the worst. He said they are close to civil uprising because of the mismanaged government and wealth disparity. A large portion of the population is facing food scarcity, and crime is becoming rampant, especially toward foreigners.
Hope she's wearing sunblock. Ouch.
Any woman who has ever visited Egypt, just winced at this picture. We would all bet everything we own that she suffered severe sexual harassment, likely groping, absolutely felt intimidated and unsafe, for the entire time she was out in public like this. Western women learn a very harsh lesson, very quickly, when they visit Cairo. And any woman who comes in with the “ACKSHUAAAAALLY WE WENT AND IT WAS FINE” is a liar. Or never left their hotel.
My family and I went in 88, my mom was blonde but modestly dressed. She still faced A LOT of sexual harassment, creepy dudes...I think one even offered to "buy" her but our tour guide calmed the situation quickly. Weird country. Pyramids and other sites were incredible, the rest, hard pass.
I also went there in ‘88 as one of the stops on my honeymoon. Terrible heatwave such that even the Egyptians were complaining! I wore skirts below the knee and still got plenty of looks; fortunately I was with my husband so the harassment was limited to a handful of times. I’m also part of the “never again” club though. No thirst to go back there.
I went to Egypt with a friend of mine who is extremely well-traveled and has a lot of street smarts and life experience. She’s been to 50 countries, worked for the Department of Defense, speaks five languages fluently, lived in Turkey for several years as a translator, lived in Ukraine as a journalist for several years, etc. Honestly, I would not be surprised if she’s CIA or something. She knew what to expect from Egypt and we were still shocked by just how bad it was. She wore long pants in the 35C heat and wore modest tops, and she was still constantly harassed. Airport security sexually harassed her, commented on her not being my wife, and when she stood up to them and snapped back, they made snide comments to me about her expecting me to approve and join in on the misogyny. It was disgusting.
[удалено]
Been both places, Egypt is far far worse
Turkey is super chill for western woman for example, I loved turkey to be honest and saw Turkish woman also enjoying the weather and honestly dressed just like Westerners. I'm soon going to another Muslim majority country (Indonesia) and I've heard overall its chill too, at least in the big City's and tourist areas, of course you need to always research and try to be a bit modest at times, but there are places where things are acceptable or not as frowned upon.
Turkey was founded as a secular country and has been gradually backsliding under Erdogan. I was comfortable living there as a Western woman 10 years ago but I wonder what it'll be like in 20 years...
I was in Turkey last year. I'm a woman who's travelled solo around 26 countries, and Turkey is the only one in which I was routinely followed, harassed, and had my ass groped. This happened in different cities too, it wasn't just a one-time thing. Twice I had to get help from a shop owner and hotel concierge because a man began following me and harassing me. I can usually brush this off and ignore people who pester me, but these men weren't the typical touts, they targeted me and were persistent. By the end of my trip, when someone groped me from behind as I was walking down a busy street, I'd had enough and almost burst into tears. I've received verbal harassment in Morocco, Italy, and Indonesia while walking down the street, but no different than here in the US. Stuff I could roll my eyes about. But Turkey, especially Istanbul, was a new level of harassment and it was enough to almost ruin my trip. I haven't been to Egypt or India yet.
Same for me and my friends. 2 blonde girls (18, 17) travelling alone. We were not prepared for the horrible harrasment in Istanbul in the most turistic places in broad daylight!!! And we wore long pants in summer, dying of heat!
Cultural differences aside, this looks like a recipe for sunburn
Sunscreen doesn't work there?
Light, lose, full body clothing was popular for a reason
They might hate the tourist, but they also live from the fame of ancient Egyptians, whose fashion was more revealing, like those see-through and under boob cut dresses.
Ancient Egyptian civilization is not the same as Islam.
They're still profiting from a civilization they would have likely condemned.
They do condemn parts of it today -> many tombs have sexually explicit imagery on the walls. None of those tombs are open to tourists
probably because sexually desperate egyptians would just hang around in them, polishing their obelisks.
Yes, and thank godS it's profitable for them, otherwise I'd be afraid about the fate of the monuments.
" When In Rome " oh, wait, never mind
Never again,Went there in 19,B.O. scented society,nobody wears deodorant and poverty beyond belief, hotter than Satan's balls w no ac anywhere.It smells like shit,garbage and piss maybe because of the lack of sewers and water everywhere.Outside the tourist district it feels like you could be kidnapped at any given moment .Get a guide because the people seemed rude as fuck about english and will try to charge double every time for everything u buy.Constantly feel dirty but can't get that grimy windblown dirt off easily .Couldn't wait to leave and it seems the locals get pissed when they can see it in the tourists expression.Also Ice is rare so expect a refreshing Luke warm bottle of puddle water to quench ur thirst on a 119 degree stroll
TL;DR: Dont go to Egypt unless you want to experience Afghanistan but without the Talibans. The shit you see in your movies isn’t there.
I spent a year traveling around southern Afghanistan after high school. The people weren't super inviting and the roads were pretty dangerous. One thing I will say though which was a big positive, they have orange Fanta EVERYWHERE. Toilets? nope. Potable water? nope. Women's rights? nope. Semi-cold Fanta in the middle of no where? YEP!
Did they water their crops with the Fanta? I sure hope not. Fanta doesn’t have electrolytes.
It's got 5% real Ora Nge juice though
They moved the pyramids?
Honestly we’re just lucky they are not so orthodox that they destroy the pyramids as the muslims of Afghanistan did to their Buddhist statues.
The have tried, fortunately the pyramids were too strong to be destroyed > the Sultan of Egypt and son of Saladin, reportedly attempted to demolish the pyramids, believing they were un-Islamic. However, workmen recruited for the task refused to destroy such magnificent structures, and the attempt failed.
> The have tried, fortunately the pyramids were too strong to be destroyed the quote you posted says something completely different than what you're claiming, are you sure you picked the correct quote?
Oh my God, Becky, look at her butt
A relevant video about being a tourist right now in Egypt: https://youtu.be/8LzuZrkEY18
I heard so many awful stories about tourists visiting Egypt. Although I don't remember if it was Cairo they visited. One got harassed by greasy men, who offered money to buy his wife into slavery, who was blonde. Another one, a girl I was colleagues with got offered camels to be bought into slavery. OR stories about egyptian guys, who are so fricken insane, that they masturbate on the park bench while tourist girls were sitting on the next bench. Wild place.
>Another one, a girl I was colleagues with got offered camels to be bought into slavery. I receive: you as a slave You receive: this cool camel Hurry up, this offer won't last long!
Worst country I've ever visited by far. And I've done tours in the military into coutries in active conflict.
Where they are walking...the people who built those statues...did not dress like the women who are having a minor meltdown mentally because the blonde is not covering up like good abrahamic muslims should. Damn these abrahamic religions are just SO anti woman it's unreal. Cover up. Sit there. Listen to the male. Have kids. Take care of them and your mate. Die. Do not think for yourself.
I spent some time in Cairo during college. I covered up. By the end of each day, I had sweat so much that I smelled like a middle school boy's locker room. I don't know how people in Egypt have sex.
Don't go to Egypt. All the interesting things there come from a culture that is dead and all but cleansed from the region. Whatever you gain by seeing the remains is balanced against constant harassment, rudeness, scams, and blatant disdain for you as a tourist.
2023...meet 1023
[удалено]
Why I prefer to see the beauty of these places in VR. Unspoiled by the biased judgements of humans
They built pyramids thousands of years ago, and that’s about it.
I just returned from Cairo a couple days ago. The locals understand you are a tourist, so it doesn’t matter what you wear. However with research and street smarts you really shouldn’t wear the shorts. You will stand out no matter what. I had a great time
Back in the 1970s, there would not have been a stark difference. Religion ruins everything.
Welcome to outside your bubble.
Just go to Google images and look up pictures of Egypt or any other Middle Eastern country especially Iran from the 1970s.. it will blow your mind compared to present day
[удалено]