Luck
As I'm sure everyone knows by now, one of the resort cities we stayed in while visiting egypt was hit by three suicide bombers a few days ago. The New York Times has a good writeup on the Egyptian government's position on the attacks and their information thus far. What might not be common knowledge is that we ate dinner at the Ghazala Gardens hotel, one of the targets of the attack.
As those who have read our blog entries and seen our photos (going up real soon now, I promise), Security around tourist destinations in Egypt is very prevalent and remarkably effective for its simplicity (essentially throwing men and guns at the problem). At no time did we feel in any danger, even when wandering down dark streets in the old quarters of Cairo in the middle of the night. Egypt is a friendly, safe place, and incidents like these are saddening because the provide yet another reason for Americans to miss out on a spectacular tourism experience. I must admit, however, that my decision to go to Sharm El-Sheikh might have changed had this happened two weeks before we left, rather than two weeks after. Then again, maybe not.
What I find most disconcerting is reconciling the my memories with the images in the news. In my mind, the charmingly run-down fuul 'n' ta'amiyyah place at which we ate dinner while watching a throng of European tourists pass by now coexists with the pictures everyone has seen on CNN, like trick photography or one of those high school explanations of the nature of matter. I wonder if the musicians we listened to while eating were playing the night the bomb went off.
Okay, enough melancholy. I've got a speech to write and a wedding to attend.
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