opisska
rabid twitcher
I am headed for Egypt on Monday for a conference and will have ample free time, both in Hurghada and in Cairo for some birding. However I am not sure how is the safety situation now for a lone birder? You all probably understand that a birder has quite a different questions about safety than a normal tourist - we don't care about scams around pyramids, but about the feasibility of walking around with a camera at some strange rarely visited place.
I was in Egypt in 2009 before all the coups and unrests and already then it seems like a little difficult place for a birder with all the regulations and police controls and stuff, but it was pretty safe on the other hand, because the police would just escort you should you appear on a place that they deemed dangerous. I guess this changed a lot since then, for the worse? I heard about a violence in Hurghada and a lot of checkpoints around not letting foreigners to ho anywhere ...
So if anyone has reliable information on the safety and possibility to wander around some interesting birding locations, I would be very thankful. (I would like to note that I am not interested in organised excursions or hiring a guide, not even if that were the only option.)
I was in Egypt in 2009 before all the coups and unrests and already then it seems like a little difficult place for a birder with all the regulations and police controls and stuff, but it was pretty safe on the other hand, because the police would just escort you should you appear on a place that they deemed dangerous. I guess this changed a lot since then, for the worse? I heard about a violence in Hurghada and a lot of checkpoints around not letting foreigners to ho anywhere ...
So if anyone has reliable information on the safety and possibility to wander around some interesting birding locations, I would be very thankful. (I would like to note that I am not interested in organised excursions or hiring a guide, not even if that were the only option.)