There and Begin Again: Dangers in an Eastern World

This is a series of Hubs about our journey to make a documentary which is to take place in Egypt. If everything goes to plan, it will be about the new Era which is upon us. It will be about the mystery and prophecy of 2012.

Of course when one goes traveling, there is always an element of danger. The fact that the traveler does not know the land is a danger unto itself. It leaves one open to being taken advantage of by the friendly stranger on the street, taxi drivers, tour guides, translators, and so on. It is always important to know just where it is you’re going, know quite a few key phrases to set you up for success, and know the customs so as not to get yourself into any sticky situations.

However. we will be traveling to a place going through some really inspiring changes. Egypt is in the throws of setting up a new government after their revolution. Things are still a little shaky, and are up in the air. However, things are definitely on the up. Just the other day, a woman news reporter appeared on television with her shawl. Culturally, this is a big deal! This will inspire hundreds of other women to shed the shackles of hiding their hair as well, inching them closer to an equality.

It is true that things are up in the air there. Right now they are going through what we went through when the US broke free of England, only they are breaking free of an oppressive regime within their own realm. They are in the what should be a long process of re-writing a constitution, but are rush-writing to restore a balance. Not only is this happening, but the newly elect president, Mohamed Mursi is desperately trying to restore a non-corrupt police system, and has even dismissed the defense minister, army chief of staff, as well as several other generals in an effort to prevent more civil war.

The likelihood of coming across a demonstration, peaceful or otherwise, is not a far out possibility, especially as our focus will be in Cairo. However, it is possible to come into contact with a protest and exit it without harm. Being foreign will not work to our advantage, but how we react to the situation will.

I have read and researched over and over just how supposedly dangerous it will be to experience this city during this time, and what to do. At this moment, it at a level that asks travelers to be aware, but does not discourage them.

Should we come into contact with a potentially dangerous situation – which at this moment would be political demonstration and protests – we simply turn and walk the other way. We are not to run, for that might target us, but just calmly exit the area. I have found several websites which talk about what to do should we get arrested, which would be the same for any country: contact our Embassy. Should we get swept away in a crowd, go with the crowd and gradually make our way to the outer edges where it is safest. If gunshots are heard, just get down and cover. But the likelihood of that happening where we are at is not high.

When I say “where we are at”, I am referring to the fact that we will be in seminars, we will be attending lectures, we will be at the Pyramids, we will be at populated and guarded areas among those who are local and savvy. There will be two sets of police everywhere we go, one set is specifically for tourists.

From everything I have read, as long as we stay off the beaten path, we stay away from certain parts of town, it is quite safe.

And I won’t lie, even if it isn’t, I would still want to be there. This is more than a once in a life time opportunity. It’s a once in an Age opportunity, and I certainly intend on experiencing it.

This excellent site has more information on safety tips as well: Journals.Worldnomads.com on Safety

Read Previous Posts in the Series There and Begin Again:
There and Begin Again: Kickstarting the Documentary
There and Begin Again: A Large Step Accomplished

Check out the Next Installment of There and Begin Again: There and Begin Again: Almost There