Beware of Preconceptions
One of the things that I’ve always heard (from travel blogs, from solo female travelers, from “The Media” is that solo travel in Egypt is the biggest of no-no’s for Western women who are used to travelling alone elsewhere.
Folks, I’m here to tell you that’s crap.
Now, I won’t pretend that it wasn’t ever uncomfortable—my first hotel was in Giza with a patio view of the pyramids and I can assure you that every time I stepped foot outside of said hotel I was addressed.
Usually by multiple people all at once, which is this introvert’s nightmare.
“Hello! Welcome! Come in to my shop!”
“You look like Shakira!”
“Need a taxi? Want to go to Memphis? Saqqara?”
“Miss, give me money please I’m hungry.”
It took me a day or two to realize it, but they weren’t…you know, rude or overtly sexual (Walking While Female in Chicago or Houston is far more distressing, believe you me). Egyptians were generally just what I have termed Aggressively Helpful. I was a blonde haired, blue-eyed woman walking alone down a street in Giza, dodging cars, camels, busses, and Tuk-Tuks, and that attracted a certain amount of attention.
But the kids were just delighted to say “hi” and get a wave in return. Yes, I got approximately seven million invitations to someone’s home for tea or dinner or both, but they also easily accepted “no thank you”. The closest I ever got to unwanted bodily contact was when a succession of shopkeepers extended their hands for Welcome-to-Egypt fist bumps.
The truth is, I walked alone to the neighborhood grocery and the park and the village pharmacy and every person along the way smiled, nodded, offered to help me through traffic or to get where I was going. I had a great time in Egypt solo, and constantly felt sorry for the sunburnt tourists being disgorged from their crowded, over-air conditioned tour busses for fifteen-minute stops at the sights.
The view from Atlantis Pyramids Inn, Cairo
So my advice is: try it. Yes, you should probably hire a guide to get you to, from, and around the big tourist sites, but don’t be afraid to travel solo ANYWHERE. And NEVER be afraid to talk to the locals! That’s what travel is all about: learning that no matter how far you go, we’re all just people.
