Is it safe to travel in the Middle East?
Well I won’t be able to speak for every nation in the Middle East since I haven’t been to them all (yet), but I can speak to the one in which I live and the ones I’ve been to and from what I know from friends. I think that a lot of Americans live in fear of travel to the east because of the news that they see everyday of war, fighting and overall disarray. Now in some aspects it is true, but you have to remember the news generally reports the bad stuff, not the boring everyday regularity. As a single woman living in this region I have traveled alone more than once and have only felt really uncomfortable a handful of times. Join wisdom and adventure in your mind and let’s chat.
I will avoid giving travel tips as it may take entire post to do those. (which if you would like to hear those let me know!)
First of all my beloved Cyprus. Cyprus is the small island in the Mediterranean below Turkey, above Egypt and just west of Israel and Lebanon. For how lovely I think this island is I’ll refer you to my last post, which will also provide pictures. Cyprus is a sort of cross between European and Middle Eastern culture. Especially for an American, Cyprus would be a great introduction to the east if you desire to do more travel in Middle Eastern nations.
The next place I went was Israel, and have been there two times since that. Now the first time I traveled to the holy land I did go with a group of friends and we were shown how to get around and much of it was explained. This I would argue is the best way to go to a nation for the first time. Go with someone who has been before or a national. Now in this nation everything is modern. They are not all riding donkeys, like in biblical times. With Wifi in many public places exploring is no problem. Now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza are a two on the US travel alert I am certain that it I because they are linked together. Having been to the west bank (Bethlehem) I can say that I did not feel unsafe, other than the sense of drawing more attention than I wanted to, but hey I’m pale, freckly, I have red hair and I live in the east, this is a common occurrence. Now in each of these places be aware and alert of your surroundings (you should be everywhere), but don’t be so paranoid, that people are looking at you because you look scared…. That will draw the wrong attention.
Next was Egypt. I will have to say that Egypt captured my heart. As many Egyptians have asked me since traveling there, how I found it, I told them that I fell in love with the nation, but could not explain it past that. Their response overall, “I understand what you mean.” The warmth of the Egyptian people is overwhelming at times, but invasive throughout society. Egypt and it’s people have a passion that is unassailable…see the revolution and Egyptian history… Now I had the privilege of being able to travel to Egypt the first time, with an Egyptian. By far this was the best experience. I got to stay with her family for a couple days and she helped me to learn some of the cultural norms and little tricks before I was on my own in Cairo for two weeks to do an Arabic intensive.
Now in Egypt as a single woman I was a little more wary, though that did not keep me down or inside. I simply followed what my Egyptian women friends did or suggested I did. The other thing I did as to draw as little undue attention to myself was that I dressed a bit differently. I covered to my knees (usually pants) and covered to my elbows.
I only had one time that I felt unsafe, as a guy followed me and kept trying to talk to me for about 3 blocks. But with some instruction from my Arabic teacher on how to tell him off, I felt confident that I would be able to if this situation presented itself again, which thankfully, it did not.
Over all the main thing I am saying is listen to locals. Don’t go around being silly and bopping around being really American. Listen and HEAR what people are saying… Yes those actually mean two different things. This is a skill we develop and I am doing my best to develop better.
This is only Part one! Look for part two coming soon that will include my trip to Lebanon and input from some of my other single lady friends American friend who live in the region!
Wandering in the Middle East 