** V I S I T ** E G Y P T ! ! ! **

On Friday I went to a rally to promote tourism in Egypt.

Millions of tourists fled Egypt at the start of the Revolution, and although the country is basically back to normal and perfectly safe, people are not returning in great numbers yet. So many people rely on tourism for work, and it is a hugely significant part of the national economy (and more so in particular areas, like Luxor or the Red Sea resorts.)

So a group of young people in Alexandria decided to take a positive step and hold this celebration of Egypt to send out the message that the country is open for business again, and ready to welcome visitors.

We gathered at the Alexandria Library at 8 a.m. It was not warm! I have become totally acclimatised to the weather here, so although it was much like a Spring morning in England (albeit with a strong sea breeze) I was freezing!

Here are the first people gathering. At this stage it was just a couple of hundred people:

The glass building to the left of the photo (behind the palm trees) is the Alexandria Library (more info on their website here). The dome-shaped building is the Planetarium.

Many of those participating were students. These girls represented the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, at the University of Alexandria:

  

Here's a closer look at the girl on the left:

Let me digress a little... "God Willing" is the translation of the VERY common Arabic phrase "Inshallah". People in Egypt will use this word in pretty much every conversation at some point. It's just not the done thing to talk about anything in the future without saying "Inshallah". In English, it can sound a bit worrying - for example if your pilot says "we'll be landing soon, God willing." So an English person would happily promote Egypt with the words "Egypt is safe" but an Egyptian has to say "God willing, Egypt is safe."

It was not all young people (though mostly). This woman was very keen for me to take her photo:

Gradually more and more people arrived, mainly dressed in red, white and black, which are the colours of the Egyptian flag. After a few speeches, we set off to walk the two miles or so along the sea-front to the 15th century Qaitbey Fort.

People were carrying signs or banners welcoming back tourists in many different languages (some written more accurately than others...)

The girl on the left is my friend Asmaa who invited me to the event.
(Note that the sign on the right helpfully has a Latin translation, presumably for the benefit of the many Ancient Romans who visit Egypt each year.)

After an hour or so, we arrived in front of the Fort, and waited for the long train of people to catch up (there were several thousand by this point.) Everyone gathered round, and some gymnasts entertained the crowds:

In the background of the second picture, you can see the Fort itself. It was built in the 15th century on the site of what was in ancient times the Pharos - the Great Lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. By that time the lighthouse had fallen into ruins (though it had still been standing only a century before) and some of its stones were recycled into the foundations of the Citadel.

Finally, everyone gathered to form a huge Egyptian flag on the steps:

It was a really great event, and I wish this kind of thing could be seen on the news, as well as the unrest and uprising. People are SO positive at the moment, and it's a great time to visit Egypt. Patrick's parents have just arrived for a 2-week visit, and they have been bowled over by the welcome they have received. (For example, they were given a bouquet of flowers at the airport saying 'welcome to Egypt', and everywhere they go, people stop them to say welcome, thank you for coming, enjoy your trip.)

So here's a final message from one of the girls I met - "Support Freedom & visit Egypt". Says it all really!