We’d be fooling ourselves if we imagine that tourists want to come to a resort like Sharm el-Sheikh or Hurghada, enjoy themselves – isolated from everyone else – until it’s time to leave! What tourists really want to experience, in any country they may visit, is not the country itself but the people. If we don’t enjoy walking just 10 meters down the street, eating lunch in a local eatery or visiting a tourist attraction, how can we expect tourists to enjoy it either? This case is not only limited to Cairo, but to every large city in Egypt, including Alexandria. A tourist is not a khawaja (foreigner) like we imagine; if we think of tourists as foreigners, then we imagine that they do not enjoy the places he visits, when in fact tourists want to immerse themselves and enjoy what the locals enjoy.

Source: Egypt Independent May 18, 2017 11:36 UTC