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[scot47]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/26/egypt-violence-port-said-riots_n_2557389.html?utm_hp_ref=uk

Maybe Egypt is best avoided.

[PierogiMonster]

Yes, scot, things certainly are very volatile at the moment. However, selective media photos and stories can't help but give the impression a whole country's on fire, when it isn't.

I live in Zamalek, an island in central Cairo. I wandered around this weekend (Friday/Saturday), sipping coffee in the sun and cramming Scott Thornbury (DELTA prep), like any other weekend. No trouble here or in most of the city or country at large, I imagine.

Of course we stay away from the obvious hotspots: chiefly 'downtown' and the Tahrir Square area. There, it's no joke. The metro was shut down yesterday and tonight I had occasion to change metro lines just under Tahrir: commuters were coughing from the tear gas that is seeping down there. Later, my taxi home was checked by citizen patrols.

Although tensions are running high in Cairo due to the two-year anniversary of the revolution, recent deaths are few and demonstrations largely peaceful. In the five months I've been here, I've never felt worried or conspicuous as being foreign.

The rioting in Post Said is an entirely separate affair to the anniversary demonstrations, precipitated by the local court's sentencing to twenty-one people to death for 'crimes' committed at a football match last year.

In short, I believe Egypt is currently safe for foreigners, provided they use their common sense and keep their usual travel-smarts about them.

[spiral78]

I'm so glad I was there when I was there...it was a fantastic trip, and honestly I'd be afraid to try it today.

[Noelle]

Such a shame- the state of Egypt today. I'm here in safe, peaceful Oman watching all of this happen, alongside numerous Egyptian colleagues.

Our prayers are with Egypt and all those affected by the useless loss of life there.