by Cody Tyler

Created on: May 05, 2008

Has Muslim Extremism damaged world tourism irrevocable? Yes

It has been a long time since I had the pleasure of traveling internationally but the experience I am about to tell you about will be that much more powerful for it.
In 1989 I was sent to Cairo, Egypt on a work assignment for a local television news station. We were covering Columbus, Ohio's "Balletmet" dancers who had been invited to be the first foreign dance company to perform in Egypt's new Concert Hall.

The ballet company as well as my producer, my reporter and I were all guests of the government. As such we were extended courtesies not afforded most casual travelers.
One of the first things I noticed when I got off the plane in Cairo was heavily armed soldiers. This wasn't too surprising since we were in a country that did/does have conflict within its own boundaries. There are the modern Muslims who have become a part of the international community and who have given women equal rights, who are well educated and who wish to do business with the rest of the world. Then there are the old school Muslims who want to uphold the ancient laws where men rule over women and all non-Muslims are outsiders.
What was a mild shock however was pulling up to our hotel to find it surrounded by at least a dozen soldiers that were all armed with Uzi's!

Once settled in our hotel we were given a warm welcome reception hosted by wealthy businessmen and women and government dignitaries. The evening consisted of a few short speeches, socializing and a stern warning. If we were going to travel outside of Cairo to visit places such a Luxor or Alexandria do NOT drive. We were told the roads were heavily guarded by guerillas that would love to ambush any cars or buses that dared to enter their territory. They would be especially delighted if they killed a few tourists. We were advised to rent a puddle jumper plane if we wished to venture out of Cairo.

Because my colleagues and I were on a business trip we had no plans to leave Cairo. We had the pleasure of spending 2 weeks "working" in an amazing city, meeting amazing people and seeing all the wonders that Cairo has to offer. That was almost 20 years ago.

Today the Australian government has a high alert warning for all Australian citizens who wish to visit Egypt. (See smarttraveller.gov.au). The government says attacks are thought to be targeting tourist's spots to kill foreigners. That list includes the following locations; Luxor, Hurghada, Aswan, Giza, Alexandria, Red Sea

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