Egyptians

The people of modern Egypt have generally got a pretty bad reputation. After spending the last 1 1/2 months traveling through the bulk of Arabia I feel as if I have a certain amount of credibility to comment of the situation. I've worked with Egyptians in India and Saudi and found them fair and extremely helpful and consider them friends, but it seems that the people who are even remotely involved in the tourist trade give the rest of the country a bad name. Traveling in Egypt is not the easiest thing in the world. Getting from place to place is relatively straight forward as there isn't much of a path to stray from. If you head of the beaten trail you end up in the boiling desert. But dealing with the people is enough to pull your hair out. It seems that most people you come across are only intent of seeing how much money they can swindle you out of. If you were visiting the country on a brief holiday, I'm sure it wouldn't matter so much, but when the word 'budget' is constantly on your mind the hassling and cheating starts to grate. The country is a total hassle zone, it's so bad in parts that in order for shops and restuarants to entice you into their establisment they advertise as 'no hassle zones'. The Egyptian government realises that tourism is important for the economy, so they created the Tourism and Antiquites Police force, which you assume would be tasked with protecting the interests of tourists and tourist sites from the onslaught of scamming touts. However, in true Egyptian style, the police are among the worst offenders. I'm sure my reaction is a bit over the top, but most other backpackers we have met are of the same opinion. It is truly a shame that a country that has some of the worlds most amazing sites finds a way to take the shine of what could of been a remarkable visit. If only some of the geniune hospitality we experience throughout Syria and Jordan could filter across the Red Sea it would make Egypt such a more enjoyable place to visit.
We are leaving Egypt today and have mixed emotions about the time we spent here. The places we visited and the incredible ancient monuments are some of the best sites I've ever seen, but unfortunately I think our memories will always be partially tarnished by the scams and hassle that are constantly present.