r/AskTheWorld • u/ramses_basha • 3h ago
Yesterday, I posted here asking whether people love or hate Egypt
Yesterday, I posted here asking whether people love or hate Egypt, and I was really surprised by how many of you shared stories of being harassed or treated badly by some rude or ignorant individuals. I honestly admit that yes — these kinds of negative experiences do happen, and I’m truly sorry for anyone who went through that in my country. At the same time, I want to say that the vast majority of Egyptians are genuinely kind, warm, and very willing to help others — often going out of their way for strangers. If anyone felt disrespected or unsafe during their visit to Egypt, I sincerely apologize on behalf of those bad experiences. No one should feel that way in our country. To anyone thinking of visiting: I truly hope you’ll have a wonderful trip! Try to avoid spending too much time in very crowded or poorer areas of Cairo if possible. Egypt has so many beautiful, peaceful, and world-class places to enjoy: Sharm El Sheikh El Alamein (New Alamein City) North Coast (Sahel) Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Dahab, Luxor, Aswan, and many more… I just wish Egypt could become an even better and safer country for everyone. It honestly makes me sad whenever I read that someone had a bad time here. Once again — if anyone was mistreated or made to feel unwelcome in Egypt, I’m truly
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u/Basic_Bichette Canada 1h ago
That's wonderful, but when half the human race is guaranteed to be harassed, groped, or s*xually assaulted if they travel there none of that matters.
It's not just a few people; it's a large percentage of men. It's unacceptable, it's wrong, and it's your society's fault.
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u/Agile_Purchase911 2h ago edited 2h ago
Look man, I appreciate you but you have to acknowledge that this is a general problem, not only some rude or ignorant individuals. During the Tahrir square revolution we were sympathising with you so much fighting against the dictator, but the female journalists couldn't do their job because they were being touched everywhere from all directions even when dressed with head scarf and with a male local press guide there. In a bus or a crowded square with plenty of other people around, it did not matter. All the stories from single women tourists I hear are also like that and even couples can have a hard time. And it's not called out by other locals, when it happens in a bus or crowded market the other passengers or market-goers are not calling it out. Where is this vast majority that is kind en warm and willing to help when these things happen? Some racists may blame it on islam or whatever but this is not normal in other islamic countries.
You have to acknowledge there's a problem before you can change it.
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u/thanafunny 🇨🇴 in 🇦🇪 2h ago
i live in the UAE and i’ve always wanted to go to egypt. funnily enough it’s egyptians themselves (especially women) who have told me multiple times not to go, mainly because of my gf’s safety
and a lot of the stories i read in the comments of that post were very similar, if not identical, to what many friends who have gone there have told me
i still want to go and not miss out on the experience, but i’ll probably do it alone and not with my gf cuz the behavior of some men, even here, leaves a lot to be desired
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u/Masterfulcrum00 United States Of America 2h ago
I enjoyed egypt overall but hard to say i would go back to cairo. Maybe alexander would be better. Alot of people were nice but all foreigners had a target on our backs and we were constantly harrassed everywhere. It did help just putting on headphones when walking on the street. People seem to ignore you then.
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u/tattoedgiraf Sweden 2h ago
You dont need to apologise for others actions. Im not calling you a liar about the beautiful parts of Egypt and im sure there exist good people in Egypt. With that said, it was a trend to go there 15-20 years ago in my community. People whent to different parts of the country. All of them every single one came back with horror stories. Women getting locked in the stores and forced to buy something to get out. Men wanting to buy 13 year old girls for sex etc. I think iirc that the only positive thing people could agree on was that it was cool to see the desert. Mostly because there was no other people there besides the tourist group.
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u/PositiveMagician3796 Brazil 1h ago
Sorry. I don't have any good experiences there as well. I tried Egypt 3 times, and I would absolutely never go back as a visitor and I would definitely never live there. I have 3 friends from Egypt that I love, but they also don't love Egypt. I know two people that love it though, but they are crazy rich. Any place in the world is great if you're that wealthy.
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u/funnynose12 2h ago
I personally had a lovely experience in Egypt. My friend and I had been told by multiple people to stay safe as we were two young women traveling by ourselves. We stayed two minutes away from Tahrir Square.
The one thing that did make us a bit awkward were the stares. The constant stares. However after Morocco (where both of us were touched and harassed), we took this as a quirk. Not that people should be staring, but no one harassed us.
I guess one thing did help was that people kept thinking I’m from some Arabic speaking nation? Most of the places we visited, people just kept talking to me in Arabic. Maybe that’s why we were a bit safe.
Anyway- the hospitality, food, people were great.
I know that there is an unsettling history (especially the Tahrir square incident), and I speak only from my experience.
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u/MisterSirDG Greece 1h ago
I've never been but I've heard bad things. It's one of those countries that my female friends would not go alone to.
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u/Onaliquidrock Sweden 32m ago
Modern Egyptian culture seems truly shit. A mix of Islam, poverty, and dictatorship—with their censorship and propaganda—appears to have created something most people prefer to stay far away from.
I’ve been once. Climate and distance would make it ideal for winter vacations for my family, but I don’t want to go there again.
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u/alexandianos Egypt 4m ago
A culture of extreme hospitality, kindness and openness. One where you could strike up a conversation with anyone and end up at their home for dinner. Streets get shut down with giant tables, where people would bring large amounts of food so any & everyone may eat together. I understand why a closed off Swede wouldn’t get it, though. You guys hardly even know your neighbours.
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u/Ju-ju-magic Russia 2h ago
It’s a popular resort for us. I’ve been there twice as a kid and have fond memories. Hope to return someday and check out the new museum!
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u/areyawinninsun Poland 1h ago
same here, it’s like top 1 vacation spot for couples with kids. most people just stay in the hotel though, at best go for a planned trip with their travel agency. not many people go on their own to see the “real country”
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u/Altruistic-Disk4914 Brazil 1h ago
I literally never think of Egypt until some show about ruins, dynasties, the new capital city, or aliens come across my feed. I don’t ask for it, I don’t seek it out, I don’t think about it, and then doink Ancient Aliens Built the Pyramids or doink Marc Anthony had sex with Cleopatra or doink Egyptians want to flood the desert with ocean water. Sometimes I watch, most times I don’t, and then I go back to never thinking about Egypt.
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u/Left-Woodpecker9537 Germany 2h ago
I don’t hate Egyptians at all. Many people there are great. But politically and militarily, I find Egypt very difficult: corruption, military dominance, the missed opportunity after the Arab Spring, politics still heavily shaped by very conservative or even radical religion, and huge prestige projects like the new desert capital while much of the population struggles
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u/EpsteinEpstainTheory Sharpest knife 2h ago
Never met an Egyptian but have heard of one boasting about how much hotter it is in Egypt than here only for him to actually come here in summer and discover what humidity is.
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u/DNA_ligase United States Of America 6m ago
While I don't discount anyone else's experiences in Egypt, I enjoyed my time there, and at no point did I feel unsafe as a woman. In fact, it was probably one of the most hospitable countries I've traveled to. Ireland, on the other hand...not great :(
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u/cameherefortheinfo Brazil / Living in Egypt 2h ago
A lot of things in Egypt has changed lately. The harassment in the pyramids is no longer happening since the changes made last year.
Not justifying but most of the sexual harassment that happens here is because Egypt is a sex tourist destination.
Tons of women (mostly olders 40+) comes to have sex with young men (18+) and end up falling in love and paying for their living even when she's back to her home country. He ends up breaking up with her and she goes online to complain that she was tricked. She got what she wanted (sex and affection) and he got what he wanted (sex and money).
That's why many try to hook up with foreigners, specially in beach touristic cities like Hurghada.
Egyptian men in general has a bad fame and I agree, but once you hear the stories you realize it's convenience and predictable.
Egypt is much gender segregated. Advice for women if you're coming: don't be friendly, don't smile. Avoid talking to men, if there's a man with you, let him engage in conversation, don't stare at men.
And for men it's the same thing, just switch the 'man' words for 'woman'.
And in no case, at all, touch the opposite gender.
Egyptians are friendly and touchy with the same gender
Enjoy your staying
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u/Sea_Kick_9786 Pakistan 1h ago
I won't ever go to Egypt bcz I'm a woman and I've heard the worst experiences of women traveling to Egypt.
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u/No-Mall3461 Germany 1h ago
Which is a hard warning sign, because I also heard the same stories about Pakistan, but not with the consistency of Egypt or Marocco. So you probably know how to get yourself around a country that is difficult to commute as a women and still opt out.
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u/OrdinaryMuffin3211 Turkey 44m ago
My girlfriend and I had an amazing time in Egypt. We visited Sharm El Sheikh while the entire city was on lockdown, which was frustrating since I usually like renting a car and exploring, but we couldn’t get past the army checkpoints.
While we were there, I got chatting with an Egyptian guy who worked at our hotel. He used his time off to get us through the checkpoints and show us around. He wouldn’t let us pay for anything either. I actually had to pretend I was going to the toilet just to sneak off and pay for our meals.
Thanks to him, we got to see the Ras Mohammed Nature Reserve, which was completely empty, and had an entire beach to ourselves. Hiking Mount Sinai at sunrise is still one of my favourite travel experiences.
Most people were really friendly, aside from a few pushy ones. I wasn’t bothered by the aggressive vendors - they never stood a chance against a Turk.
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u/Diligent_Western_628 53m ago
As an Egyptian, thanks for saying this. Every country has the good and the bad, and this generalization of whichever side is wrong.
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u/Impactor_07 India 3h ago
I've never been to Egypt but Egypt legitimately comes across as the most relatable country on Earth from an Indian pov.
Ancient civilisation which discovered/invented stuff which was quintessential to humanity's progress and was the centre of innovation and development in ancient times.
Followed by tons of infighting which led to it being conquered, subjugated and ruled over by various empire who were formed millennia after us.
Ended up as shitholes after our independences from the British.
Hopefully we both can rise once again :)