Recently Egyptian TV ran public service spots (govt. created) urging Egyptians not to talk with foreigners. Can you imagine anything more insane for a country mostly dependent on tourism for its income? Madness - the government finally woke up and ordered the ads off the air. See the story on the Associated Press website.
Egypt has some of the world's most spectacular antiquities; pyramids, temples, tombs, museums. People come from all over the world to see them. Various Egyptian tour guides speak all the world's major languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, etc.
Egyptians who don't live in open-roofed mud brick homes along the banks of the Nile need to be aware of exactly from where their income comes. Directly or indirectly it comes from tourists.
All of the tens of thousands of owners of summer getaway condos along the Mediterranean beaches east of Alexandria need to understand that the Egyptian economy lives on the tourist dollar, euro, yen, pound, peso, etc.
For these reasons, as well as their own comfort, they need to get the nation settled down, calmed down. Most of us won't come if we are fearful of our safety.
