Egypt Cracks Down on Vendors Near Pyramids

One of the biggest complaints of travelers to famous world monuments is that they are tourist traps with hordes of (sometimes pushy) locals selling various (often gaudy) knickknacks. Well the USA Today is reporting that Egypt is looking to clean up the area near the Pyramids of Giza and that in two years peddlers won't be allowed in the site.

Along with the crackdown of trinket vendors, Egypt is also modernizing the facilities near the pyramids and increasing security. Once the project is complete, tourists will be treated to a new lighting system, a cafeteria, and a new visitors center and bookshop. On the security front, a 12-mile chain-link fence with cameras, alarms, and motion detectors has been built to surround the site. Visitors will also now enter the site through a new building featuring x-ray machines, metal detectors, and 199 cameras.

In countries were the biggest industry is tourism, I don't have a big problem wading through vendors if they aren't overly pushy or get into my photographs. While I think Egypt's decision to curb vendors is the right one (and the country is known to have some pushy ones), I also don't want to see people lose their livelihood.

The increased security precautions should also be applauded, and when I was there, security was already very tight. In Cairo and the surrounding areas, our small group was accompanied by a guard with a machine gun. While that my scare of some, it made me feel safer, and the guard was also a great guy, who everyone in the group connected with.

As always, for more on Egypt's pyramids check out the section on my website. Also leave your thoughts on this topic in the comment section and check out the above-linked USA Today article.