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| Cairo is much safer than most Western capitals |
Egypt has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and the Egyptian capital is a much safer place at night than, say, Moscow or London. Any major city in the country can be walked at night safely without taking special care to avoid the dodgy parts. Yet in spite of the prevailing safety things are a bit trickier if you're a foreign woman travelling alone. But even then the chances of a real physical attack are rather low, the only problem being verbal harassment. Much publicized terrorist attacks on tourist targets, that have been occurring over the past decade, received a lot of attention in the international media. In this case it should be pointed out that most of the victims of these attack were the Egyptians (either the police or the terrorists themselves) which is easily forgotten abroad. Moreover, the terrorist threat has been taken very seriously by the Government which is doing its best to protect the tourist industry, its vital source of income. In spite of these attacks Egypt remains a fairly safe destination. One crime which has over the past decade been on the increase, and presents a substantial threat to travellers, is theft. This especially refers to a proliferation of cases in which money disappeared from hotel rooms or, sometimes even, hotel safes. This is obviously not a case of random theft, but has to do with the hotel staff. If your money magically disappears do mention the tourist police to the hotel management and things will probably be solved within minutes. Pick-pocketing is at its worst on the Cairo metro, but there's a heavy pick-pocketing activity on the overcrowded city buses too. In general you should always keep an eye on your valuables in crowded places. However, pick-pocketing is nowhere nearly as great a problem as it is in most of the big cities in the West.
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| Teacher's Hospital in Cairo with Cairo Tower in the background |
Egyptian private hospitals offer excellent health care. The only problem is that once you leave Cairo, Alexandria and, maybe, Port Said, things suddenly change and you can no longer count on the first-world medical care provided in the three big cities. Another issue, when using country's private hospitals, is the cost of treatment which is, like in any other country, substantial. Egypt doesn't have the reciprocal payment scheme with foreign countries and even if it did it sill wouldn't grant you the access to the privately run medical institutions. The only way to circumvent the problem is, of course, to get medical insurance before you arrive.You should avoid going to the dentist while in Egypt. Excellent dental care is available throughout the country, but the problem is that standards greatly vary and if you are not careful about your choice you could expose yourself to the risk of getting hepatitis B or HIV due to improperly sterilized equipment. Apart from that, your medical insurance, no matter how extensive, will cover only a small portion of the dental care costs (usually up to 50 eruos). In other words check your teeth before the trip! A vast majority of travellers doesn't actually require the assistance of either the Egyptian dentists or doctors as a large portion of illnesses, such as diarrhoea, can be treated by the medicines available at the pharmacies and sold over the counter. In order to prevent diarrhoea never drink tap water as it is not safe (not anywhere in Egypt!). You can either stock up on bottled water or boil tap water for 10 minutes. Water can also be chemically disinfected by iodine tablets or a water purification filter. It goes without saying that drinking water from the Nile or any other lake or river will almost certainly cause diarrhoea or vomiting. The following infectious diseases can be found in Egypt, although reasonable measures of precaution will bring the chances of actually contracting them to a minimum: diphtheria, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HIV, malaria, poliomyelitis, rabies, rift valley fever, schistosomiasis, tuberculosis, typhoid and yellow fever.
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| The Egyptian police force |
Very many independent observers will agree on one thing - there's something wrong with the Egyptian police. In the past several years the Egyptian police forces found themselves involved in a series of torture-related scandals as a torture kit (containing a whip, clubs and a barbed wire studded stick) were discovered at a certain Egyptian police station. Police brutality has become commonplace as the torture and mistreatment of the arrested people proliferated. So far the Government hasn't shown any willingness to admit there is a problem with its police forces and let alone deal with the issue. In the meanwhile the institutionalized violence has proliferated throughout Egypt and Amnesty International has recently identified the country as the global torture centre where the interrogation of international suspects, sent there by foreign Governments, is conducted. Most of the suspects are sent by the US Government as a part of its War on Terrorism campaign.So how did it all start? And why Egypt? Certainly a part of the answer is to be found in the fact that the salaries of the Egyptian police officers remain unrealistically low (around USD 100 a month). This, in turn, leads to the acceptance of bribe on lower levels and to the complicity in drug smuggling at higher levels in the Egyptian police forces. Moreover, whenever there's an increase in Government spending on the police forces, due to widespread corruption, large portions of the newly allocated money are never spent in the way they were first meant to be.
All in all, it is difficult to expect such a badly underfunded and mismanaged institution to function properly. Still this does not entirely explain the proliferation of violence among the Egyptian police as there are other countries around the globe with badly payed police officers who don't seem to generate as much bad press when torture accusation are in question. Luckily as a traveller you probably won't be dealing much with the local police except when entering or leaving the country. That is, of course, unless you are arrested for breaking the law. Being a foreign traveller you will always first deal with thetourist police. Over the past years the tourist police has grown in size due to Government's efforts to protect tourists from potential terrorist attacks. Needless to say, if the terrorists decided to strike again, badly trained and inappropriately armed tourist police wouldn't be of much use. Some travellers find the heavy presence of the tourist police around Egypt's main sights soothing whereas, for the majority of foreigners, they represent an unnecessary obstacle to enjoying the wonders of Egypt in peace.
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| A souvenir stand at Khan al-Khalili |
The omnipresent Egyptian custom of endless bargaining before making a purchase can be a potential source of stress for travellers unaccustomed to dealing with the merchants in the Middle East. The technique can be, more or less, mastered after a while, but this practice leaves a lot of room for different types of scams. Although a large majority of the Egyptian merchants are a trustworthy lot, tourists often get grossly overcharged while shopping for souvenirs or arranging short tours, for example. The best defense against this is experience which you will probably gain if you stay for a longer while in Egypt. It is sometimes difficult to explain to foreign travellers, especially the stubborn Westerners, that, when travelling in Egypt, you should streer clear from drugs. Don't ever try to buy any during your stay in the country, and, most importantly, don't try to bring any into the country by yourself. If you're caught with any quantity you'll get into serious trouble. The maximum penalty for drug abuse in Egypt is death, and this applies to foreign nationals too. Like anywhere else on the globe, except maybe Monte Carlo and Tokyo, you should avoid looking expensive. Remove all the jewelery, fancy wrist-watches etc. It's also good precaution to get a shabby looking photo and camera. Furthermore if you're planning on renting a car in Egypt remember not to leave any valuables in it. Theft is a much less common crime in Egypt than most developed countries, but still it's on the increase in the tourist areas, most notably Hurghada, the Sinai resorts, Luxor and Cairo.
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| Dehydration is a substantial risk while travelling in Egypt |
As far as natural hazards are concerned there are very few of them in Egypt. The country is neither earthquaqe nor hurricane prone. The fact that this land sustained world's first civilization is a proof of how mild and tame it is. However, and this especially goes to those coming from colder climates, remember that the Egyptian sun is a potential source of hazard. Dehydration is a much more serious thing than it sounds, and not all water in Egypt is potable. Make sure to have sufficient amounts of it wherever you go, especially while sailing down the Nile on a felucca. Don't swim in the Nile! The locals may seem to get away with it, but still don't. Speaking of swimming, bear in mind that 44 different species of shark are found the the Red Sea! There are approximately 23 million landmines spread across the entire Western Desert (see Devil's Gardens) making the region world's largest minefield. Don't wander too far off the beaten track if you want to come back in one piece.
