Walking out of Coptic Cairo, part of Old Cairo.
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I have already mentioned that I found Cairo surprisingly devoid of street crime, and that though there was some catcalling and harassment, I never once felt unsafe in the city.
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That being said, Egypt has experienced some terrorist attacks in the last couple of decades, mostly against tourists or the Coptic Christian minority in Alexandria and Cairo.
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I walked down the main street of Coptic Cairo, lined with historic churches and synagogues, many still in operation today with believers attending service as I walked past. At both ends of the main road there are blocked entrances guarded by Egyptian security, put up to protect the community from possible attacks.
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As I left the Coptic area and wandered into the rest of Old Cairo, I was stopped by guards who asked what my business there was. I explained I was a traveler and photographer from Athens (playing the Greek card really put a lot of people at ease in Egypt) and we ended up joking around and I took some pictures of them (swipe to see).
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Around 10-15% of Egypt’s population is Coptic Christian - a significant minority. Despite the terrorist attacks by a few extremists, many Egyptian Christians and Muslims seem to co-exist peacefully, with a shared language, culture, and traditions that bind them. It’s not uncommon to see mosques and churches side by side. However, it’s also true that Christians have felt persecuted and discriminated against in Egypt, and some have left for those reasons. It is not a straightforward relationship, and the tension between the two religions seems to vary based on the current government in power.
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That being said, the chances of a traveler experiencing any kind of attack are still incredibly low. Tourists have been warned off the Sinai Peninsula and desert border regions, but not much else. So go explore and judge for yourself!
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