Safety in Egypt

Hi Christine,
    I wanna ask you please, do you live in Egypt? Visit it before? has any friends there? Got close to its culture and people before? !!!

If yes I guess you'll never ask a question like that but you'll write only about how much this country is beautiful and how much the people are very kind and supportive..

If no I want to ask why you specify Egypt in this kind of surveys? Is it suspected country like that way to be determined in your speach?

Finally no need to defend or agree with  that survey because Egypt is greater than any surveys or searches may affect its nature as a greatest country ever...
I'm so proud to live in Egypt after traveling all over the world and examining people everywhere..

But you want to relocate to Australia. And by the way, she didn't specifically ask about Egypt. The same questions is asked on every forum. The real question is, are Egyptians quite sensitive and react negatively to simple questions about their country? It appears yes.

XB23, Haha so funny you're 

Hi Christine,

I've always informed my friends and family that Egypt is the safest country I have ever been to, and I've been to a few.

My wife and I, together or separately, can walk the streets here any time day or night, with a month's salary in our pockets, and not worry about being mugged or feeling threatened.

The society here is very inclusive, almost familial and the local people actually look our for us as ex-pats.

The police are visible on the streets, the army has checkpoints in various places.

In Dahar, the Egyptian part of Hurghada, where we live, there is little criminality, no social problems apart from poverty and few tensions.  The tensions arose under the government of Morsi but it has settled down again now and Egyptians are putting Egypt before other considerations.

XB23 is right - every Egyptian will claim that Egypt is the best country in the world and will not accept any criticism of their country.  I've been here 6 years now, it's a fantastic country but has its bad points as well as the good ones.  Safety and crime are not an issue that bothers us here.
Rania, this question is not intended to be negative towards Egypt, these questions are being asked everywhere so that people on the forums can get a proper view of a country from people that live there.  No need to be so sensitive that someone may say something bad about Egypt.

I love Egypt and live in Hurghada work in an International School. I love the atmosphere and way of life and have many Egyptian friends
I live in an area where ex pats and local people live together. I love it and feel very safe and cared for.
No issues in Hurghada!

you straight on point , totaly agreed , netyoda and XB23

Netyoda, I do apologize if I gave a negative reaction but honestly I'm in LOVE with Egypt & tried even to live abroad but failed to do that..

& now even If I want to immigrate to Australia but this is with broken heart & out of hand, I hope I can live here till death.

your opinion is great & I totally agree with you too.

Allah protect Egypt 

I live in Luxor and find no problems about safety, I feel I can walk the streets at any time of day or night. However there is an increasing underlying fear of ISIL penetration among ex pats

I live in Luxor and find no problems about safety, I feel I can walk the streets at any time of day or night. However there is an increasing underlying fear of ISIL penetration among ex pats

Hello  I am single womon in my 60's. I have lived in Dahab Egypt for 5 years and have traveled thruout Egypt. It is very safe. I have travelled thruout Europe and Asia and Egypt by far is much safer and more welcoming. I was born and raised in Detroit and have lived in Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco and NYC. I have travelled thru out the USA. And the USA is by far the most UNSAFE  country. Crime is highest and touches everyone in some form or another. Racism is still felt

I'm not a young woman and leave my hair naturally grey (uncommon among Egyptian women), although I wear makeup & dress fashionably casual - arms and legs covered out of respect. I describe myself because younger women probably attract more attention than me.
That said, wherever I am in Hurghada, I immediately greet Egyptians in Egyptian: on the bus, in shops, taxis etc. Or if they address me in the street. It seems to break the invisible foreigner/native wall and I delight in their enjoyment of my attempt to 'be Egyptian'. Secondly, I mention my husband is Egyptian, and that I am not a tourist. This especially, with mock horror, when charged a silly price.
I feel utterly safe in Hurghada and have become friendly with lots of different Egyptians here: Saidis, Nubians, etc etc.
There is a random preditatoriness in London that is absent in Egypt.

Feel extremely safe in Alexandria. As a 30 year old woman who walks alone at night, or walks with girlfriends, nothing has ever come close to scaring or upsetting me in my time here - except maybe for the odd dead cat in the road...

Having lived in Indonesia, Venezuela, South Africa, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, New York, and all around England, I'm delighted with the friendliness and safety in Alexandria. It's certainly 1000 times friendlier than my experience of Nottingham!

As mentioned above, Egyptian people will respond positively to expats if you attempt to learn the language and have a joke with them - the same as in any culture, I suppose. I've seen the other side of this to be true too; hostility and snootiness will only get you bad attitude and bad experiences in Egypt. (If you were polite and friendly, and got attitude back for your trouble...Well, there are A-Holes in any country.)

when read about the history Egypt from Egyptian history till up now will find this country its safe from the god and people live in Egypt always Egypt safe.

I wonder how women feel about living in Egypt alone, although I personally being a 6' 2"  16 Stoner feel ok, my wife was sexually assaulted, we reported it to the Police, there were no Police women, and the men thought it was a good laugh some of them seemed to get sexual gratification listening to her story. They arrested the man and put him in prison to await trial, that was when our trouble started, his family friends would come to our home threaten us, plead with us and abuse us. For my wife's safety we dropped the case, ever since then my wife has never been out after dark and will never go out unaccompanied.

Safety in Egypt...... Yes I am scared .
  I am scared of taxi drivers . They are robbers on wheels. They charge you more and they don't want to give you your change back

Recently one  taxi driver got physical with me and twisted my arm when I insisted him to give me my change back.

I got so scared that I did not leave the house for days.
There are people here that can be defined as premitives.

i think it  is safe in cairo too  ,  especially   late at night  on a cold February day

To be honest I find Cairo to be a very safe city. I've lived in quite a few countries and many of them I would not dare go out at night.
Chocolate eclair I'm very sorry to read about your wife's plight. Bint izzat sorry too about your experience. I too have been in taxis where the drivers pretend they dont have change. So now I make sure I carry change with me.
Egypt on the whole is a safe country but like everywhere else there are positives and negatives. So lets try and focus on the good side in order to enjoy the journey.

Safety is one of our biggest issues in Egypt, in some places it's really danger for both Egyptians and Expats and other places are just safe
but anyway for Foreigners it's more safer for than for Egyptians themselves as our government care about tourists and foreigners as they are a very good source of  foreign currency 
it's not that i hate my country or i am a bad representative, i just want it better than that but it is reality 
hope to be better sooner

I don't know why my comments on the fact racism in Egypt is widespread, were removed when it's relevant to the questions being asked about the country. It's a well known fact, but plenty of Egyptians are in denial, and so I'm in no doubt they decided to report my posts, as they can't handle any criticism of their country. Stop it please, and accept the reality!! I will keep re-posting this same comment, until banned if necessary. I hate the truth being removed!!

Go,go,go go

missmash wrote:

To be honest I find Cairo to be a very safe city. I've lived in quite a few countries and many of them I would not dare go out at night.
Chocolate eclair I'm very sorry to read about your wife's plight. Bint izzat sorry too about your experience. I too have been in taxis where the drivers pretend they dont have change. So now I make sure I carry change with me.
Egypt on the whole is a safe country but like everywhere else there are positives and negatives. So lets try and focus on the good side in order to enjoy the journey.

They don't have changes? No problem ,ask for all your money back, and all of a sudden changes will appear. Or ask about changes before getting in.

I think this is a good question to be honest, too many people look at life through "Rose Tinted Glasses", many cannot see the wood for the tree's or do not want to see. All Countries have their own traits, some countries treat both sexes has being equal, some countries allow their citizens to travel freely and to gain world experience, vital to and expanding country. Alt of Countries are not male dominated, allowing women to hold good work prospects, and earn good money. You can go on and on forever, but everyone will think their is nothing better than their country of origin, except maybe for myself, I am fairly well travelled and know their are better countries to live than the UK, or at least I am prepared to admit it,

Hi meme1 I do that anyway. Then i just go to a shop purchase something random to get change then pay the taxi. Most of the time they dont like it but heyho im not here to pay for people's livelihood. I'd rather someone asked me for help then just decide to help themselves.

In fairness that happens in many developing countries, including my own, which is also located in the North African region.

It happens in every country in the world.  Taxi drivers are the first and probably last con-artists you'll meet in any country you visit.  As a foreigner they'll try and take you for every penny they can.

To caveat that, I have lived in various places and found good ones everywhere, but as a profession they are generally a bunch of shysters and crooks.

I get to know the price of trips and simple put that in their hands at the end of a journey and don't even bother arguing beyond that.

Hi
itbis very safe
u can go anywhere , no need to be scared , policevis everywhere
by the way im tour guide , if you need any help

hi, may I ask you what are the rates in language schools in Hurghada? I am an English teacher too. thinking of moving with my wife and kids.

I have just returned to Australia after my second trip to Egypt after marriage (total 6 mths).
Some Egyptians are quite sensitive to this suggestion... but for foreigners it's a reality... Egypt can be dangerous.
I never understood why my husband insisted I never speak in taxis or some other places until I started to speak to expats living in Egypt.
I look Egyptian/Arab and everyone speaks to me in Arabic but I don't speak Arabic. Once people see I am a foreigner things change;  prices go up for example, I'm aware I am at the mercy of an individual's decency.
I know of expat Muslimahs who have been attacked at knife point for a few extra pounds. Most feel very unsafe with taxi drivers.
I have been followed in a mall by a group of youths.  I wld not leave until my husband came to get me.
I never travelled alone.
It's hell at places like Giza pyramids cos the sellers there can smell a foreigner at 100 mtrs. They read people so well. My husband is very polite but I was very outspoken about their ruthless harassment.
I did not feel safe and most women I know (expats) are the same.
As much as Egyptians may not want to accept this, Egypt can be unsafe for us.

It's worthwhile to allow the lens of the 'other' to bring forth that which may not be seen when everything is familiar;  when a culture is our life lived experience. Everywhere has it's good and not so good aspects; pretending all is perfect is naive.

Filagree wrote:

I have just returned to Australia after my second trip to Egypt after marriage (total 6 mths).
Some Egyptians are quite sensitive to this suggestion... but for foreigners it's a reality... Egypt can be dangerous.
I never understood why my husband insisted I never speak in taxis or some other places until I started to speak to expats living in Egypt.
I look Egyptian/Arab and everyone speaks to me in Arabic but I don't speak Arabic. Once people see I am a foreigner things change;  prices go up for example, I'm aware I am at the mercy of an individual's decency.
I know of expat Muslimahs who have been attacked at knife point for a few extra pounds. Most feel very unsafe with taxi drivers.
I have been followed in a mall by a group of youths.  I wld not leave until my husband came to get me.
I never travelled alone.
It's hell at places like Giza pyramids cos the sellers there can smell a foreigner at 100 mtrs. They read people so well. My husband is very polite but I was very outspoken about their ruthless harassment.
I did not feel safe and most women I know (expats) are the same.
As much as Egyptians may not want to accept this, Egypt can be unsafe for us.

It's worthwhile to allow the lens of the 'other' to bring forth that which may not be seen when everything is familiar;  when a culture is our life lived experience. Everywhere has it's good and not so good aspects; pretending all is perfect is naive.

Thank you Filagree for this comment,hope every single Egyptian from here will accept this fact and will never negate it again.

Hi I think its safe to walk anywhere in Egypt. What I do find irritating. Are the taxis every two seconds u hear beeep taxi .... They dnt do to Egyptians. Just the tourist. I've learnt to say la imshi ma fish faloloose .which is no go away I've got no money

It's better for men I believe in Egypt.  As a muslim woman, in Australia it's safer for a male muslim than us. Women are harassed daily here so I believe it's a socially accepted practice by too many cultures, including Western,  that women are weaker, more vulnerable and therefore easier targets. Too many men have the thinking,  albeit from a weak character and ugly nature, that they can do what they like to females.
In Egypt, from my limited experience,  women are somewhat more vulnerable than men, whether they dress like non muslims or hijabi, as a foreigner we are not safe.

May I offer my hand of support. This is exactly why Egypt is not safe.  The police and authorities are corrupt and the law is inadequate.  Having said that it's only in the past 20-30 yrs that law in Australia has been better for women who have experienced rape.  It's still estimated that most do not report.
in Egypt, as yr story shows, everyone can harass without consequence.
In high tourist areas there is more safety but outside this, and particularly in regional areas,  it's very unsafe.
My husband says it was better before the revolution.
The last few days when have been in the phone (he's still there) I can hear fighting outside.  He tells me people are fighting all the time and knives and guns are commonplace.
I can only suspect most is not reported so pple are not aware of the reality.

I'd say that
Ana Mish Owz, Shukran  (I  want, thank you)
is far more polite, as imshi is not  "go away", it's far more insulting and rude than that.
also useful:
Mish Enharda, shukran (not today thank you)

Or when a driver stops next to you and shouts at you "taxi"
Aywa, mabrook, fil taxi (yes, congratulations, here is a taxi)
can confuse them somewhat.
Mostly I just keep walking and shake my head without looking at them

ana mish owz = I DON'T want - sorry, missed the typo

RaniaMoussa wrote:

Hi Christine,
    I wanna ask you please, do you live in Egypt? Visit it before? has any friends there? Got close to its culture and people before? !!!

If yes I guess you'll never ask a question like that but you'll write only about how much this country is beautiful and how much the people are very kind and supportive..

If no I want to ask why you specify Egypt in this kind of surveys? Is it suspected country like that way to be determined in your speach?

Finally no need to defend or agree with  that survey because Egypt is greater than any surveys or searches may affect its nature as a greatest country ever...
I'm so proud to live in Egypt after traveling all over the world and examining people everywhere..

Don't take offense this topic is on many Forums all over the world from Viet Nam to Ecuador to US. She is part of the administration of Expat.com

DAHAB DIVA wrote:

Hello  I am single womon in my 60's. I have lived in Dahab Egypt for 5 years and have traveled thruout Egypt. It is very safe. I have travelled thruout Europe and Asia and Egypt by far is much safer and more welcoming. I was born and raised in Detroit and have lived in Cleveland, Atlanta, San Francisco and NYC. I have travelled thru out the USA. And the USA is by far the most UNSAFE  country. Crime is highest and touches everyone in some form or another. Racism is still felt

Yes it is gun culture like nowhere else in the world. I have read statistics that there are firearms of some type in one out of every three households

I would suggest that you never ride a taxi alone, you should have someone with you. Never take a route that you do not know. Do not count on Egyptians for protection. It is very normal for them to see Taxi drivers fighting, robbing and hitting women passengers. Actually they will not even protect a girl if she is being harassed. Always be in touch with the people you are going to visit so that they can help in case and God forbid if you need one. Take care, have a nice time, be safe.

My uncle came from the UK to see us 4 years ago, the taxi driver quoted him 40 to bring him into central Luxor, (The going rate at the time) when they arrived my uncle gave him 40 and the taxi driver, said no, English Pounds. My uncle asked him since when has Egypt been using GBP for trading? By that point my wife and self had arrived to see what was happening, when my uncle explained, I took out 40le gave it to the taxi driver and said emshee. This is a bad advert for Egypt because the minute my uncle got home he put it on the internet warning other tourists. He was extremely mad and vowed never to return. Will they ever learn and realise the internet can bring a place to its knee's.