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Still Uncrowded in Jordan and Egypt
Old 05-25-2021, 11:33 AM   #1
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Still Uncrowded in Jordan and Egypt

Just returned from a bit more than three weeks in these countries. One week driving around Jordan, one week liveaboard diving red sea in Egypt, and the remainder split between Cairo and cruising/touring up the Nile on a 16 passenger boat.

Petra was amazing and empty--during our last hour on the first day (after the last admission time), we saw zero other tourists and only 2 or 3 vendors. Castles and Wadi Rum had plenty of elbow room. The Dead Sea resort, however, had a lot of Jordanian families--felt almost normal. Roads in Jordan very easy to navigate--most signs on the highways are in arabic and english.

Egypt was much the same. For example we saw just one other group at Valley of the Kings (and a few couples). Port Ghalib, where our diveboat docked, had a smattering of tourists in the restaurants that were open. Giza (pyramids/sphinx) was more crowded, as were the major Cairo museums--but far less than normal.

Each country requires a negative 72 hour PCR to enter--and Jordan also tests you upon entry. (BEWARE, if you overnight in Egypt before flying to Jordan, they won't accept your USA PCR test--you'll need a rushed one from a recognized Egyptian lab). There also remain restrictions within the countries due to covid, but they were easily navigable.
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Old 05-25-2021, 01:32 PM   #2
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You're very fortunate to have seen those sights when the world's coming off a pandemic--and the troubles in Israel.

We went to Europe in 1991 just before the bombs started dropping in Iraq. And we were the only Americans in the Hofbrau house in Munich one Saturday night--a first. Sometimes traveling in times of strife can be rewarding. It's sometimes nice to be close to the action, but not right in it.
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Old 05-25-2021, 02:54 PM   #3
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Petra is an awesome site, isn't it? I was able to see it back in 1999 while Clinton was in Jordan for King Hussein's funeral (part of the Air Force airlift of secret service/etc). I have seen lots of pictures, but they don't do it justice. I was also lucky at the time there were very few tourists.
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Old 05-25-2021, 03:22 PM   #4
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Hoping that we have one more trip without the usual crowds (Iceland in June/July--were able to book quite late with no problems).

Has been a terrible year+ for the travel industry, but all of our trips (After the first 2.5 months stuck at home) have been excellent.
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Old 05-25-2021, 04:29 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 View Post
Petra is an awesome site, isn't it? I was able to see it back in 1999 while Clinton was in Jordan for King Hussein's funeral (part of the Air Force airlift of secret service/etc). I have seen lots of pictures, but they don't do it justice. I was also lucky at the time there were very few tourists.
Closest I've been to Petra is seeing an Indiana Jones movie with Harrison Ford set in Petra.
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Old 05-25-2021, 11:48 PM   #6
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Egypt was much the same. For example we saw just one other group at Valley of the Kings (and a few couples). Port Ghalib, where our diveboat docked, had a smattering of tourists in the restaurants that were open. Giza (pyramids/sphinx) was more crowded, as were the major Cairo museums--but far less than normal.
I was less than impressed with Giza when I travelled to Egypt three times on business in late 90's. Photographs of the Sphinx and the pyramids were more impressive than being there. I was really looking forward to the visit to Giza but once you arrive and see the Sphinx and pyramids you are left wondering "that's it?". There was far too much erosion. The pyramids at Giza actually look more impressive from about three miles away. Alexandria wasn't any better and neither was Cairo. I didn't find that there were that many tourists that ventured to Egypt when I went. Post pandemic, I wouldn't expect things to improve.
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Old 05-26-2021, 07:07 AM   #7
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I was less than impressed with Giza when I travelled to Egypt three times on business in late 90's. Photographs of the Sphinx and the pyramids were more impressive than being there. I was really looking forward to the visit to Giza but once you arrive and see the Sphinx and pyramids you are left wondering "that's it?". There was far too much erosion. The pyramids at Giza actually look more impressive from about three miles away. ....
Yeah, Giza was somewhat of a disappointment after the South; still, for us, was well worth the 1/2 day expended in visiting. Sort of like Machu Picchu to me--got excited about both when I was a child, and they couldn't live up to 50 years of anticipation. (Giza for factors you mention; Machu Picchu due to the crowding.)
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Old 06-01-2021, 11:34 AM   #8
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I’d love to go! However, US State Dept is advising against travel to Egypt,
COVID, terrorism. There website mentions limited ability for Embassy to help US tourists
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