Saturday, February 28, 2009

Safety in the City

Cairo has been in the international news a lot lately, so I just wanted to assure everyone that I am safe and sound.

The bombing last week was in the downtown area of Khan al-Khalili, a popular shopping area with tourist and locals. I wrote about this in the blog in November. This is not anywhere near where I live.

I appears the bombing may be related to the fighting in Gaza. Since the fighting in Gaza has started there have been demonstrations and strikes, including a large one in front of the American Embassy. But all of this activity has been limited to downtown Cairo and the border towns of Rafa. Despite the seriousness of all of this, for the most part peoples daily lives have not been interrupted.

I feel quite safe in Cairo. Personal crimes such as muggings, shootings or stabbing are VERY rare. I can walk around at any time day or night and there are always a lot of people in the streets. I have several friends around town where I am welcome to crash on a couch if need be, and a few cab drivers who will pick me up anywhere I need. And i am also smart enough to avoid trouble if it can be foreseen.

I assure you all I am being safe - as safe as anyone can be in a city of 18 million people.
Thank you all for your concern. And I'll keep you posted.

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