It never occurred to me how devoid of people this sight of Giza’s Great Sphinx is until reader Jeff mentioned it in one of the comments. I know it’s ironic – considering I wrote about the lonely touts hanging around, desperate for business back in May, yet I held on to this photo. Hoping I could share it in contrast to the rare travel opportunity I experienced in post-revolution Egypt now flooded with still waiting for tourists.
Since that time I’ve followed the news in Egypt a little more closely, even when was traveling in distant places from London to Las Vegas. Spending any amount of time in a place often connects you to its people; an aspect of travel that’s not easily replicated secondhand. (I’m convinced if it were possible for every person on Earth to meet every other, the world would be unimaginably improved.)
Egypt is now going through its second uprising, waiting for (historic) election results from this past weekend. Since January 25th, the country has seen a 60% drop in tourism, so the Sphinx waits for history to come and go. More importantly, 12.5% of the Egyptian GDP will need to be filled in 2012. As the political climate stabilizes in late winter you’re likely to find even better deals than I did 6 months ago; but it will be nearly impossible to find fewer tourists.
You can see the rest of my photos from Egypt here.
Egypt has been high on our list of must-see destinations for a while now, and we were actually close to going on a press trip there before the second uprising. Hopefully things will calm down soon so we can arrange a visit and help the nation get back on more solid financial footing. Political instability must be disastrous for places like that…
I think things will stabilize very quickly – at least on the ground (not sure about politically).
I think it’s ironic that while we tourists gaze at the beauty of the Sphinx and her neighbors, the great pyramids, she looks across the street at a KFC and Pizza Hut. At least she did when I was there in 2007. Here’s hoping that Egypt’s stability returns and we can once again enjoy the treasures of this truly magnificent place in relative safety.
Still does unfortunately and I feel that’s a big steal from their magic. It’s really too bad that the Pyramids and Sphinx are right in Giza from an aesthetic point of view. I too hope stability and democracy comes down the line for Egypt. Accomplishing those two things will make the revolutions look like the easy part.
I planned to go to Egypt this spring, but now am very unsure if it is safe for a solo female traveler, given the state of affairs and the current situation with the military. What do you think, Anil?
I’m not sure how stable things will be in the spring, it looks a bit early to tell, but the first round of elections taking place is a very good sign. Although there are internal concerns about the outcome, so far the people have generally accepted the results. I think that bodes well for the final two parliamentary elections ending in mid-January.
Much of the violence has been very localized and was even more so during this second round of demonstrations. I think it’s still safe for travelers and solo female travelers so long as you’re not in the middle of any further demonstrations that might take place – which is easily avoidable.