Some of you were concerned about our travel to the Middle East.  In Egypt, security is extremely high for the protection of tourists and their antiquities.  We passed through metal detectors at every hotel and at the Egyptian Museum.  Our bags were searched many times.  An armed "Tourist & Antiquities Police" was stationed at every hotel.  Temples had plenty of police.  Every Nile cruise ship had a policeman.  Soldiers guarded our train. Police rode camels at the pyramids.  They were scattered about in the Valley of the Kings high above the tomb entrances.  The Sinai Peninsula had military checkpoints asking for passports, where bulletproof barriers with rifle slits and gun mounts on trucks stood ready.  Some tour groups had a police escort bringing up the rear.  In every area we visited, there was at least one policeman at every block.  They were always nearby and I felt very safe, including the day I went alone to meet my new friend Omneya without Arabic language skills or a map.

Soldier guarding the Oman consulate/embassy