• Home
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • North & South America
  • Travel Your Way
    • Away with Photos
    • Away with Video
    • Away with Words
  • Travel Tips & Hacks
  • Travel Musings
    • Life
    • Travel Quotes
    • Travel Poetry
  • Contribute
Instagram
Away With Words | Travel Blog from Dubai to the World
  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • North & South America
  • Travel Your Way
    • Away with Photos
    • Away with Video
    • Away with Words
  • Travel Tips & Hacks
  • Travel Musings
    • Life
    • Travel Quotes
    • Travel Poetry
  • Contribute
Home  >  Africa • Away with Words • Destinations  >  Egypt: A Love-Hate Relationship
AfricaAway with WordsDestinations

Egypt: A Love-Hate Relationship

Siobháin Spear September 19, 2019

Egypt, I’m not quite sure how I feel about you.

You’re the land of ancient Pharoahs, Sphinxes and colossal pyramids, but you’re also the only country in the world (thus far) that has massively disappointed me.

You exude this vivacious character and behold this old-worldly charm and beauty, but you have a deep-rooted issue that needs to be addressed. I write this with an openness that asks you to listen attentively because this is a problem that is tarnishing your global reputation and impacting your tourism, but I also write with a respectful sensitivity because this can be rectified – if you choose to address it.

Egypt, I had heard so many uplifting stories about you in the lead up to our trip – stories about your culture, your landscapes and your warm hospitality. I was so excited to immerse myself into Egyptian life with the same curiosity and open-mindedness that I bring with me to all my adventures. Yet, I was so utterly frustrated by what my friends and I experienced. Unfortunately, despite loving the Dahab coast and the off-road exploration of Sinai, these are the handful of memories that overshadow the good times in Egypt:

  • That rock that was hurled at our heads by heckling men, which narrowly missed us as we walked down the street in Giza
  • The two young men that groped me while we went in search of a restaurant in Giza – but had to turn back.
  • The harassment of the wolf-whistles and sexual remarks that were directed at us as we walked (fully clothed) along the beaches of Sharm El-Sheikh
  • The eyeballing, ogling, cat-calling and cussing that we encountered in the Cairo market.

Unfortunately, these four events, across only a handful of days, are the ones that left the lasting impression of Egypt. Yet, I still have this niggling urge to come to your defence – to write down the justifications that I know I have voiced to friends who have asked about our trip:

“Maybe it was our fault for visiting at the wrong time – at the tail-end of your revolution”. But then I ask myself how I can excuse the harassment that we were subjected to.

“Maybe it was our fault for travelling as an all-female group”, but then I think about all the countries in the world that I have happily travelled to alone or with my female friends .

“Maybe we were dressed the wrong way?”, but then I anger myself because we covered ourselves from head-to-toe to respect the culture – and no matter how you dress, such harassment is never okay.

“Maybe we just had a run of bad luck?”, but then I read the shocking statistics on sexual harassment in Egypt; I read stories from expats living in the country; and I read the multiple news reports from inside the country and abroad. This wasn’t bad luck; the probability was in its favour.

Even as I write about this harassment we experienced, I feel some sense of uncomfortable anxiousness about pushing it out on a public platform. But, Egypt, if we don’t talk about it, how can you ever fix it? And you need to fix it.

Maybe one day, I will revisit you and rewrite this tainted travel story. Maybe one day, you’ll rectify the tainted experience for the female traveller.

Until then, I’ll cling on to the the mystical hearsay of what you were supposed to be and the edited version of my pyramid pictures that hide your third largest city and the intrusive concrete car park that you built in the backdrop.

Previous Article Island Life in Zanzibar
Next Article Haiku Poems: Travel

About Author

Siobháin Spear

Related Posts

  • Golden sand dunes and Qasr Al Sarab resort in the Empty Quarter of Abu Dhabi

    Inside Anantara Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort

    January 22, 2020
  • The Qingshui Cliffs plunging into the blue and turqoise waters of the Pacific Ocean on Taiwan's East Coast

    East Coast Taiwan: Your Ultimate Guide to Taroko National Park

    December 11, 2019
  • The skyscrapers and cityscape from the Peak in Hong Kong

    15 Things to Do in Hong Kong

    November 20, 2019

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Inside Anantara Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort
  • East Coast Taiwan: Your Ultimate Guide to Taroko National Park
  • 15 Things to Do in Hong Kong
  • How Not to Fail a 30-Day Challenge
  • Paris is…

Categories

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Away with Photos
  • Away with Words
  • Destinations
  • Europe
  • Life
  • Middle East
  • North & South America
  • Travel Musings
  • Travel Poetry
  • Travel Tips & Hacks
  • Travel Your Way

Travel Tags

Best things to do in Taiwan Dubai to Oman India Travel travel poetry Visit India

Fly Back in Time

  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • January 2019
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018

Subscribe to Away with Words!

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Away With Words travel community! You'll receive notifications of new posts by email.

Facebook Twitter Instagram

About Away With Words

Fusing a love for travel with a passion for storytelling, Away With Words was brought to life by Siobháin Spear in 2018. Siobháin is the Editor-in-Chief & Co-Founder of insydo, a regional lifestyle publisher; she is also a Co-Founder of Brand Ripplr, the region’s largest influencer platform.

Having met many talented globetrotters while clocking up her 56 countries, Siobháin opened up Away With Words to the digital nomads of the Middle East – those worldwide wanderers who take full advantage of living in one of the fastest-growing travel hubs on the map. Born out of a passion for exploring the globe and creating infectious content, Away With Words is a meeting of creative minds from across the World (Wide Web).

Expect a regional community of travel storytellers who venture away with words, photos and videos to bring you travel tales, itineraries and worldly reminders that will only ever inspire you to book your next plane ticket.

Away With Words is your online runway to the world! Get going.

Categories

  • Africa6
  • Asia14
  • Away with Photos6
  • Away with Words30
  • Destinations30
  • Europe5
  • Life3
  • Middle East3
  • North & South America3
  • Travel Musings10
  • Travel Poetry5
  • Travel Tips & Hacks2
  • Travel Your Way4

Archives

  • January 20201
  • December 20191
  • November 20191
  • October 20195
  • September 201916
  • August 20196
  • July 20191
  • June 20191
  • January 20191
  • September 20181
  • August 20185
  • July 20181
  • March 20181
  • January 20181
Away With Words | Travel Blog from Dubai to the World
© Copyright January 2018.