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Yes, in western countries, some basic principles are founded in christian believes as in arabic countries they are founded in islamic believe. That´s not the problem. The measuring stick is the amount of tolerance that is given to dissenting voices, politically as well as religiously. I´m not...

As I have written before: democracy and a society/government based on religious beliefs are mutually exclusive! Democracy is all about tolerance, equality, freedom (to think diffently) and to ability to voice dissenting thoughts. All of that are absolute no-nos in a rigid religious framework...

I was not sure where to post this, but since this is only relevant to Dahab and maybe Sharm, I give it a try here: My girlfriend has a drysuit for sale, because she was never really happy with it. She doesn´t like the trilaminate and has now bought a crushed neoprene and would like to sell...

Whereas the tables used to be an absolutely necessary tool to execute dives safely in the past, they are today (IMHO) a tool to understand what computers do and what the numbers on the display mean. The introduction to tables gives a deeper understanding of decompression theory and avoid...

We have used the boat repeatedly over the last year and a half and all our customers loved it! I have nothing to add to the praise sung in the other posts, except that you won´t find a more customer-oriented owner/Skipper like Karim. As he says in the initial briefing:"This boat is yours for...

There is a big difference between wanting to visit a country to make money or to spend it there! If a country decides that tourism should play a huge part in the national income, then it is shere stupidity to raise the hurdles to enter. This has nothing to do with equality, it´s a question of...

OK, I just got a call from a usually very reliable source: After contacting the bureau of the primeminister as well as that of the minister of the interior, both denied any truth to this planned changes. They firmly stated that they never had any such plans and never authorized any such...

If you question String´s post, can you please enlighten us about the security threads posed by independent travellers? I really fail to see what harm could come from those millions of independent travellers that don´t book through the big agencies.

I´ve read the theory somewhere that this is mainly targeted to screen incoming travellers during the pre-election time. The government has already said that they don´t want too many independent jounalists and no election observers here. That´s (maybe) a way to stop them from coming. The...

Yeah, that´s probably because the people in Dahab and other resorts feel their livelihood being destroyed right now, whereas the "ideologists" and "intellectuals" in Cairo don´t give sh... about the working mans daily life. For them, the "bigger picture" is of course more important than the...

I spoke with maybe a dozend or more egyptians about the situation over the last couple of weeks. From the pick-up driver and the boat captain to the hotel owner. I have not found one who supports the approach of the current government towards tourism. The vast majority of the people I spoke with...

Yes, I know and it´s embarrasing! embassy attacked This violates all civilized agreements between nations and is not tolerable. Embassy grounds are sacred in any civilized country and attacking one is the sure sign of the law breaking down. There is no excuse for such a thing. Burning police...

How many million egyptian travel to europe each year for vacation and spend billions of Euro there? Oh, sorry, 90% (of the few hundred every year) want to have visas to work there and to make money - not spend it! You have the same right as an egyptian to work in Europe as europeans have to work...

Why don´t you get in touch with the german embassy then? They might still have a wall to sell! It´s quite interesting, though, how the egyptians start to build their new "democratic and free society"...

So, Solly, in which category falls an individual that books his flight, hotel and diving via the internet? How would they know upon arrival at the airport in Sharm if this is an "individual traveller" or someone who has booked through, let´s say, Thomas Cook? How does Thomas Cook trate, anyway...

Yes, spies are known to disguise themselves as a diver on a safariboat. They wouldn´t dream of coming to Egypt as a member of an embassy, as a cultural attaché, for example. Or posing as a businessman. No, they usually pretent to be a tourist in Hurghada or Sharm. I´m sure, it will be...

unfortunately it´s true.

Now they are really killing tourism! new visa requirements

Afraid of flying? :D

I think you can not seperate religion and politics from tourism if you want to discuss the future of Sharm (or Egypt as a whole). Both are intertwined heavily and both have a huge impact on the decisions the european tour operators will make for the next year(s) and on the image that is created...