Egypt Revolution 2011
11/02/2011, or to understand it better, Friday 11:02:2011, is a date that the people of Egypt will never forget. On that day, President Hosni Sayyid Mubarak relinquished control of the country and fled to "exile" in Sharm El-Sheikh. As he was running from Cairo, the world's media decided that Egypt's problems were over, and 18 peaceful protests had ended. They packed up their gear and moved on.
Over the following week, the reports from Egypt started to fade into history as Yemen, Libya, and many other countries in MENA (the Middle East and North Africa) began their protests in the Arab Spring, erupting into violence and significant chaos. Camera crews were relocated, journalists moved to new warzones, and almost as quick as they arrived, they departed, leaving behind the usual collection of "local" reporters and fixers whom major networks would largely marginalize. Herein lies the problem with how the world's media reports events: it is only good news when lousy news; bad news sells, and good news is boring!
However, on that Friday evening, when the Western world rose to congratulate Egypt on achieving its goal, things were improving. Many of the world's leaders or representatives went to Cairo. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron was the first to arrive and promised that Britain would help in Egypt's rebirth. He was followed by many others, including the U.S. Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, and U.S. Senator John Kerry. However, why they came here must be questioned, especially regarding the impact on travelers to Egypt and their safety and security.
Mr. Cameron stated he would help, and within hours, the U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth office travel warning was lifted, yet it took until towards the end of March for the USA even partially to lift their warning. Were Clinton and Mr. Kerry just here for the photo opportunities and media spotlight? So much for President Obama's speech on Friday night when he said: "The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary and asked for to pursue a credible transition to democracy. Egyptians have inspired us". Lovely rhetoric, but we needed that help the week after Mubarak's resignation in Egypt. We needed that help simultaneously as David Cameron and the rest of Europe lifted their travel warnings, allowing tourists to return. By the way, this is not anti-USA, as Canada and Australia have only recently slightly lifted their travel warnings.
Why are these travel warnings essential to us in Egypt? Well, many people look to their governments for help when traveling abroad, and they get this advice through their Foreign Office/State Departments. When a foreign country says it will help a country in the aftermath of a protest or revolution, if that country depends on tourism for its lifeblood, lifting travel restrictions is one of the best things it can do. It allows the people to know it is safe to travel there. By not doing this, the country will slowly implode itself as Egyptians who depend on tourism for their income have to turn to other measures, and when a country is full of priceless artifacts, it is not hard to see what will happen. Again, Egypt came under the media's spotlight once the thefts started, even though they were just as quickly stopped. Most of the looted artifacts are now back in Egypt's possession or en route to Egypt, but this is one more thing mostly not reported by the media.
The Bottom Line: Egypt Is Safe!
First of all, Egypt is safe to visit and has been for years. Many people have done so since the week following the resignation of President Mubarak. The hotels are all ready to receive guests, the cruises are prepared for their passengers, and the most important thing for you is that all the sites are open. Your safety, which is paramount to us, as well assured as the Egyptian police force, the tourist police, and the army are all obvious throughout the country. The army leaders have appointed an interim government until elections are held later in the year, so we are not under martial law, as many still think. Dr. Essam Sharaf is the Prime Minister and has an entire cabinet below him to run the country; the army is now back, looking after its duties again and assisting the government when needed.
Secondly, what is happening elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa does not affect us here. As you will see from the map below, only Libya borders Egypt, and the distance between Tripoli and Cairo is large enough to fit the main island of the UK with miles of space to spare.
The way journalists report on the Middle East sometimes beggars belief, and it is entirely understandable why so many people are confused. Egypt has had a history with Israel, and it has had conflicts since 1948, yet this ongoing problem has never stopped tourists from visiting. As you will see on the map, Israel is much closer to Egypt than any other country.
Egypt is safe to visit now and looks forward to welcoming visitors to the many sites and resorts throughout the land: the Red Sea or the Mediterranean coast, the deserts and oases, or the Nile Valley. You may not know this due to the lack of positive news from your televisions or newspapers, but it is 100% true. Since the end of the protests, we have been having a slow but steady trickle of travelers returning, and they have all been pleased with what they have found. I will finish this newsletter with some (genuine) quotes that we have received from some of these customers:
"We once again thank you for a beautiful and safe experience in Egypt. At no point in time did we feel threatened or unsafe? Even passing through Tahrir Square on one occasion, we felt completely safe. The Egyptian people are a very relaxed and docile nation. The situation that led to the short period of unrest was caused by a very long period of mismanagement.
"Your guides are all very competent, and we can only recommend your service to anyone who wants to listen."
"The service we had from your organization throughout was excellent and can be recommended to anybody interested."
"It is a shame that the Egyptian tourist industry is being hurt by such bad publicity. All your tour guides were very professional and helpful".
"Yes, the U.S. media groups the Middle East as one small area and one unit. According to my tour guides, many tourists to Egypt had come from the U.S. before the revolution. I am shocked at this".
"Your excellent service during the initial period of inquiry and booking, meeting us at the airport, daily tours accompanied by very competent tour guides in Cairo and during the cruise, and even the drivers of your vehicles made our trip something to remember and to recommend to everybody."
"We hope things improve for the better pretty soon."
We thank you for reading this newsletter and hope to welcome you to Egypt shortly.
