Robbed in Faiyum

[PeterdeH]

To everybody,
Take good care where you stay the night at least in Egypt and be prepared with some cash money in dollars to save your life !
I went wrong in the outskirts of Faiyum, I thought to have found a nice quiet place where they were building a new housing area. Around 04.00 in the night I awoke from voices around the car and then knocking. I took care by opening a window and although they started friendly, when facing a shotgun you have no other choice then opening the door. They were not at all interested in my eguipment they only wanted 'cigaret money' but got angry when I offered Egyption Pounds , they wanted dollars. Luckily I had $30 in my wallet which they accepted and left me.
Could have been much worse....
But for me it is no bush campings in Egypt any more, I will stay next to checkpoint and campings only.
Peter

[andrasz]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the news, glad to hear you got off rather lightly. Unfortunately this incident just underscores the drastic changes Egypt underwent in the past couple of years.

When I lived in Egypt many moons ago, even though if you dropped something it never made a clinking sound, violent crime was practically unheard of. You could leave your car unlocked, and the worst that could happen was to find it accompanied by someone who was expecting a few piasters for 'guarding' it. Up till about 5-6 years ago I never experienced any physical discomfort or threat anywhere only genuine hospitality, no matter how remote and poor areas one went to.

Now it is drastically different, given the complete meltdown of the economy and society in many areas, anything and anyone offering an easy target is fair game for people desperate to survive. There is no discrimination, foreigners and locals are equally targeted. As your experience underscores, it is asking for trouble to sleep anywhere unguarded, or to venture to some areas after dark (some even in daylight). The sad fact is that the Egypt we knew and loved is pretty much gone for good.

I know it is not very PC, but I see a direct relationship between the events and the fact that 30 years ago Egypt had 45 million people, today ~100, half of them under 25...

[Warin]

You have not been to a HU meeting..
The wallet you have for day to day use is the wallet you give to robbers .. it has some money, expired cards, photo copy of license ... things you 'give' away and continue with your trip. Pessimists might carry more than one of these

[cycling egypt]

hi
i cycled from cairo-fayum(with peter in his 4x4) benisuef.police followed me all the time...friendly...in benisuef i had to protect my couchsurfer,so i said shokran...and send police away.
nextdaypolicefollowed till benimazar but i escaped them and stayedwith a fisherfamily on the nil...food ,thee and a lot of fun,i dont speak arabic and them no english.
minya...i watched checkpoints on googlemaps and cycled throug the countryside around checkpoint than on agricultureroad to asyut forcouchsurfing.
my southafrican cyclefriends are followed by police since cairo...they make them go 140 km and sleep in hotel...that is not my trip!!!!
people are wawing hands on the road,inviting me for the and coffee,meals and give oranges and apples.
with police i dontfeel SAVE,but thief....till now ,it is the trip ofmy dream...
ciao....by arne

[chris.perjalanan]

Been riding through egypt coming from Soudan exactly two years ago, also taking the western desert loop by vespa scooter.

We´ve encountered nothing but amazing hospitality and in Aswan even met a nubian guy in a bar who invited us to his family house. He wouldn´t let us go for 3 days and his wife brought so much delicious food we at least took 5 kilos before leaving !

Bad things can happen everywhere, my mate got robbed at gunpoint in Barcelona so no reason to be more affraid in Egypt than anywhere else.

Greetz form Germany,
Chris