Egyptian's Express: Travel to Egypt Continues to be Safe

Travel to Egypt Continues to be Safe

by Jimmy Dunn

News Flash: Egyptian Government and various tour companies pay for accommodations of around 700 American tourists stranded in Egypt due to the closure of United States airports.

Tourists at the end of their tour who were scheduled to come home have been stranded in Egypt due to the closure of American airports. In an effort to ease this situation, the Egyptian government and various tour companies are paying for the additional accommodations required by these tourists.

I am in constant, daily contact with the Ministry, travelers actually in Egypt and who have just returned, American ex-pats living in Egypt (of which there are thousands), and common Egyptians.

Currently, all airlines and other tourists facilities are operating normally, with the obvious exception that airlines are not going to or from the USA at this moment. This is, of course, a problem associated with USA airports, rather than Egyptian airports. There have currently been no specific US State Department warnings about travel to Egypt.

We are in contact with American and other travelers in Egypt currently. We know, for example, that one large USA travel company has a number of groups in Egypt right now, and after the events in the USA, that company offered their travelers the option of returning to the USA prior to the end of their tours. Not a single individual took them up on that offer. Specifically, responses from these groups indicated that the people felt perfectly safe and secure.

Further, we are hearing from Egyptians offering sympathy, and have heard from American ex-pats living in Egypt who have told us that they have been overwhelmed with calls from their Egyptian friends indicating their sorrow and shock over the events in the USA. In general, my findings are that Egyptians as a whole are somber over the events in the USA, and as a nation and a friend of the USA, have expressed their support.

So for those asking, Egypt continues to be a safe travel destination, and all facilities remain open, and operating normally.

In addition, we have this from the imam of Al Azhar:

CAIRO, Sept 12 (AFP) - The top authority for the world's Sunni Muslims, the imam of Al Azhar (Egypt), condemned Wednesday the wave of deadly terrorist attacks in the United States as contrary to the Islamic religion.

"To kill innocent men, women and children is a horrible and hideous act which no monotheistic religious approves of...," the imam, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, said in a statement to Egypt's state-run news agency MENA.

"Al Azhar is opposed to terrorism, whatever its source and the place" where it is carried out, the imam said. "Islam is a religion which rejects violence and bloodletting." Tantawi added that attacks were "rejected by any healthy human spirit."