Online: | |
Visits: | |
Stories: |
Story Views | |
Now: | |
Last Hour: | |
Last 24 Hours: | |
Total: |
Israeli tourists visit Egypt for first time in 18 months under high
security: embassy
Thu, 05/01/2017 – 10:54 Al-Masry Al-Youm
http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/israeli-tourists-visit-egypt-first-time-18-months-under-high-security-embassy
The Israeli Embassy in Cairo announced on Wednesday the return of Israeli
tourists to Egypt, and displayed the details of the first visit of an
Israeli tourist group to visit to Egypt since one year and a half.
On Facebook, the embassy posted that the visit included the Valley of the
Kings in Luxor, Aswan Dam, and a number of Jewish shrines, the embassy said
on its Facebook page.
The embassy added that Smadar Perry, a correspondent of Yedioth Ahronoth
daily Israeli newspaper, insisted to participate in the trip, especially as
she had already visited Egypt “hundreds of times” before.
The visit took place amid tight security measures to protect tourists. A
police car permanently led the bus, which carried the tourists, and another
one followed the bus along with two police motorcycles. The security guards
rejected repeated Israeli requests to let them walk in the street.
The embassy quoted the report published by the correspondent of Yedioth
Ahronoth as saying that a captain who accompanied the group in Luxor, said:
“[My superiors] will dismiss me from work, if [any of] you are missing a
single lock of hair!”
Although Egyptians welcomed Israeli tourists and members of the group did
not face any manifestations of hostility when they presented themselves
publicly as Israeli, no Egyptian official has issued a public statement
welcoming the visit, said the statement.
The visit ‘s program included a balloon trip in Luxor; eating falafel in
Felfela restaurant in Cairo on Talaat Harb Street; moving around Kasr El Nil
Street; and visiting the Yacoubian building — the building which inspired a
novel by writer Alaa al-Aswany that is translated into Hebrew, according to
the statement.
The group took souvenir photographs of the Sha’ar Hashamayim Synagogue and
Madbouly library, where the book Yasmin, written by Israeli writer Eli Amir,
is sold.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm