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I just returned from nearly three weeks in Egypt in its post revolution and was amazed by the level of calm I experienced given the fact that Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan while I was there and major State Department alerts were sent out, a serious riot took place in a Northern Cairo suburb between Coptic Christians and Islamic fundamentalists. So, given the bad news I was hosting nearly 60 passengers in Cairo and the Nile with an extension onwards to Jordan. The near calm experienced by my group was amazing. The hospitality, friendliness, and even somewhat aggressive behavior by the known sales vendors was far more inviting than any of my many visits to this amazing destination. Now is the time to visit Egypt as tourism is off nearly 85%. There are no crowds anywhere, monuments, museums, and cities are being cleaned up, and the new spirit of democracy is strong felt as one travels through this amazing country.    Square(ground zero for the Egyptian revolution) was cleaned up and looked fresh after the turmoil that prevailed this past January. I truly felt safer than prior visits. There is still trouble brewing, however, and this is said to be normal for such a large and diverse population. The Nile cruise was operating with about 25 of nearly 200 boats that travel between Luxor and Aswan. Even the weather was surprisingly comfortable for most of the trip. It is said that hotels are averaging 10-20% occupancy in Cairo which was quite jarring  to see some major hotels with nobody in attendance. My group was spoiled by an amazing opportunity and time to visit this great destination that still ranks among the top travel destinations on the planet. Egyptians are very hopeful, proud, and excited for their future democracy. This alone is exciting for them.

 After touring Egypt, I headed off  for a trip to the lovely Dead Sea in Jordan, visited the ancient pink city of Petra, and spent 2-days in Amman. Jordan was also surprisingly calm, wonderfully friendly, and void of tourists. They are suffering from their proximity to Syria, Egypt, and on-going Palestinian conflicts with Israel. Nonetheless, my experience was stellar especially the evening spent at the New Kempinski Ishtar resort on the Dead Sea where after a swim (rather float) in the salty Dead Sea, covering myself head to toe in black mud (a healthy treatment), and ending a magical day with a poolside dinner under the stars overlooking an infinity pool into the Dead Sea with Jerusalem ablaze across the water, one could not ask for more!Petraby night was an extraordinary visit with its deep canyon walkway lit by candles  until you reached the famed Treasury where about 150 or so enjoyed Jordanian Bedouin music and tales by locals under the candle lit Pink building that is the main monument to this amazing city built into the rocky canyons… It was simply magical.

 As I said earlier, now is the time to go to these amazing and very affordable destinations before the crowds reappear and prices go back to normal levels… I would go back tomorrow if I could.

 Happy Travels.

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