When touring around Egypt, we have noticed different levels of security. On the highways, there are various checkpoints; sometimes we have to show our passports, sometimes the tour guide just shows the travel permits for the group. On the tour bus we always have one security guard (who is armed), sometimes two, such as when we went to Sharm el Sheikh and some of us when on to Mount Sinai. When we went to the Great Pyramids we had a police escort.
With Egyptian traffic being as it is, it is often difficult to tell if we have an escort or not.
We were on the highway outside of Cairo, on our way to the Suez Canal, when I had to go. I passed the worded to the tour guide, who consulted the driver. “Five minutes,” he said. No problem. He started to speed up, and we noticed that a blue security truck cut in front of him. Another one came up on the side, and words were exchanged between their driver and ours. Next thing we know, there’s another truck behind us. The trucks were honking and passing each other, and all of us were speeding up. Five minutes passed and the trucks were still going around us.
We finally pulled over and there were no less than four security trucks.
There was a driver and a guard in the front of the truck, and then two to four armed guards in the back - with no AC. The security followed us from the last check point, because we were “VIP Americans.” Because there were so many trucks following us, our driver had a hard time pulling over, for me to go to the bathroom. I was a little embarrassed for all the commotion, so I tried to thank them the best I could- I bought them some water.
With Egyptian traffic being as it is, it is often difficult to tell if we have an escort or not.
We were on the highway outside of Cairo, on our way to the Suez Canal, when I had to go. I passed the worded to the tour guide, who consulted the driver. “Five minutes,” he said. No problem. He started to speed up, and we noticed that a blue security truck cut in front of him. Another one came up on the side, and words were exchanged between their driver and ours. Next thing we know, there’s another truck behind us. The trucks were honking and passing each other, and all of us were speeding up. Five minutes passed and the trucks were still going around us.
We finally pulled over and there were no less than four security trucks.
There was a driver and a guard in the front of the truck, and then two to four armed guards in the back - with no AC. The security followed us from the last check point, because we were “VIP Americans.” Because there were so many trucks following us, our driver had a hard time pulling over, for me to go to the bathroom. I was a little embarrassed for all the commotion, so I tried to thank them the best I could- I bought them some water.
(Thanks for the photos, Ed!)
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