Travel: Convoys abolished

The Times Online (Anthony Sattin)

This is obviously such great news that lots of people have sent me links. This one on The Times was sent to me by Ann Van de Velde, with my thanks.

For the past 10 years, if you wanted to see the treasures along the Nile and you didn’t want to go by boat, you had to travel in an armed convoy. Not any more.

In the wake of the 1997 attack at the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor, the Egyptian government obliged all foreigners travelling overland between the country’s main tourist centres to join armed convoys. This visible security was intended to dissuade attacks and reassure visitors, but it has long outlived its usefulness.

Ironically, in the absence of any attacks, the convoys have become the biggest danger: in high season, as many as 100 coaches and minivans have raced across the desert from the Red Sea resorts every day.

The effect of this rally on the antiquities, particularly in Luxor, has been disastrous. In spite of new parking facilities, neither the Valley of the Kings nor Karnak Temple is able to cope with the simultaneous arrival of thousands of visitors: when I visited the Valley of the Kings just ahead of the convoy a couple of weeks ago, there was only one guard on the gate to check tickets.

Things should be very different now. Even if you are only visiting Luxor, the end of the convoys should mean a (slightly) calmer visit to the main sights. Coaches will still arrive from the Red Sea, though, one hopes, not all at the same time.

See the above page for the full story. I have a particular memory of travelling in a convoy from Hurghada to Cairo in a convoy. It was very, very slow! By the time we had arrived from Quseir and waited in the queue for the convoy to get underway it was a ridiculously long day. We managed to avoid the convoy from Aswan to Abu Simbel when we went to Napta Playa on the way to Gilf Kebir, which was a blessing because we were able to leave several hours earlier than the convoy, giving us much more time to enjoy the sights.

It is good news for anyone who has wanted to visit Gebel el Silsila, which has always been a bit awkward to arrange. I look forward to arranging my first visit!

I've always thought that the convoy was the most peculiar device for securing tourists. Like that scene in the movie Con Air where the first and last vehicle are blown up in order to isolate the vehicles in between, gathering all one's tourists in one place seemed to be asking for trouble. I am very much in favour of well planned security measures, but that one seemed to be particularly ill-advised.