Traveling is good for the soul. We all know that. What many don’t know, however, is how good it can be for Americans to travel abroad right now. I was in Turkey and Egypt for two weeks last fall and have a few observations and experiences to share about traveling.
The first major benefit of travel right now is that the dollar is so strong. This means that you can buy more with every dollar. Good deals abound. Lodging and food can be extremely affordable if you plan well.
A second major benefit is that many major tourist destinations are reeling economically from big declines in tourism because of terrorist attacks and other problems. Turkey has had a number of terrorist attacks in the past few years and suffered a coup attempt this last summer. The coup failed, and Turkey’s iron-fisted ruler, Recep Erdogan, has cracked down on dissenters since the failed coup. These events have led to a sharp reduction in tourism. Turkish tourist areas are suffering severely from a lack of visitors, and this can translate into some great deals.
Egypt has had a similar downturn in tourism since the 2011 revolution and the subsequent military coup that kicked out the elected Muslim Brotherhood government.
There’s no guilt in taking advantage of good deals during times like these in these countries. They greatly appreciate any tourist dollars that come in and we, the tourists, can enjoy all that these countries have to offer for great prices. For example, my mother and I (we traveled together for these two weeks) stayed in decent single rooms in a hostel in Luxor for just $5 a night. That’s not a misprint. Mom’s room even had an extra twin bed so two people could have had her room with their own beds for literally $2.50 a night. That’s hard to beat.
I thought Turkey was charmingly affordable after we enjoyed a nice meal in Konya, the capital of Turkish Islam and the home of poet and spiritual leader Rumi (known as Mevlana, or Our Master, in his spiritual leader role), for just $6. But when we traveled in Egypt we had more than one nice meal for two, with bottled water, for just $2 (20 Egyptian pounds). Food and lodging in much of Egypt can cost less than $20 a day quite easily.
Being treated like a rock star is another unexpected benefit of traveling as an American at this time. We were treated well in Turkey, and people seemed genuinely friendly even when not trying to make a buck off of us. But Egypt was off-the-charts friendly and welcoming. People would literally say “welcome” to us as we walked down the street, with a large smile. Even little kids would stop playing and say welcome. Clearly, the message has gotten through to everyone that the country depends on tourism to survive, and they are very happy to see tourists coming back to their country.
We were even asked to pose for pictures with Egyptians, both adults and kids, on about six separate occasions. Maybe they actually thought I was a football player or something, but more likely they just thought it was cool to be seen with a westerner. None of those asking to pose with us for selfies did any kind of hard sell to get money out of us, so it seemed like a genuine “this is cool” kind of thing for them to do.
Being challenged is another benefit of traveling. Even travel to famous vacation spots like Tahiti or Ibiza can be challenging in their own ways, but they’re generally meant to be the opposite of challenging: We want to be pampered and lazy, lying on the beach with an infinite mai tai in hand. I’ve taken my share of these kinds of vacations. I live in Hawaii part time, in fact, so I know pampered and lazy.
I am increasingly drawn, however, to the types of travel that entail more of a challenge and the potential for personal growth. There hasn’t been anything particularly difficult about my most recent travels in Turkey and Egypt, but there have been some interesting moments. I’ve only traveled in a Muslim country once before (Morocco), and I didn’t notice in Morocco just how pervasive the call to prayer can be.
In both Turkey and Egypt, both strongly Muslim countries, the call to prayer is at least five times a day, starting in Turkey at 5:30 a.m. and in Egypt at 4:30 a.m. (!), because they don’t have daylight saving time in Egypt. It’s possible to sleep through the call to prayer, but it can be difficult because every mosque blares the call to prayer from its minarets from electric loudspeakers.
Coming from a country that prides itself on freedom of religion and separation of church and state, it is a very different experience to have Islam offered up so obviously and in your face as it is in these countries.
I foolishly scheduled a work call in the evening while I was in Egypt (I generally keep up with work at least a little as I travel) and tried to call in at what I thought was a quiet nook away from the street. But that nook turned out to be the back side of a mosque — which I realized as it blared the evening call to prayer directly into my ears and my phone. After minutes of waiting for it to be over, I joined the conference call late only to find that a few minutes later the same call to prayer started up again for some additional minutes. Note to self: Don’t schedule business calls in a Muslim country unless a nice quiet room is available.
Another challenge of traveling in Egypt’s most touristy places like the Giza pyramids and Luxor is dealing with very pushy and apparently desperate vendors and others who make their living from tourists. We learned to just generally ignore the legions of men (they’re always men) who are extremely aggressive in asking tourists to buy various things or services. I find ignoring another human being to be difficult, and I hate feeling rude, but after so many vendors approach you, and you have to say no four or five or more times before they take no for an answer, you learn that just ignoring them may be the best solution.
Turkey and Egypt were, however, astounding despite the challenges, and I would heartily recommend to anyone that they visit these countries. Turkey’s churches, mosques and natural endowments are gorgeous. Istanbul is a delight, with amazing food and a clean and easy to get around environment (but avoid car travel if possible since traffic can be crazy in this city of 16 million). Egypt’s antiquities are truly amazing, and my visit has revived my childhood interest in Egyptology and attempting to trace our civilization’s Greco-Roman roots further back in time to its Egyptian forebears.
No one needs to be persuaded of the virtues of traveling, but it seems that now is a particularly good time to stretch those legs and exercise those credit card flight miles you’ve been so diligently accumulating.
— Tam Hunt is a lawyer, writer and amateur photographer based in Santa Barbara and Hilo, Hawaii.
