To wonder why the fuck anyone would want to go to Sharm El Shek anyway?

[GlitteryRollerGirl]

Just that really.

That part of the world is incrediably volatile at the moment, even more so since the terrorist attack in Tunisia. The foreign office advised against travelling there after that. I've always wanted to go to and see the pyramids but accept its not going to happen for the foreseeable future, it's not worth the risk . Now this terrible incident with the plane, clearly there is intelligence telling the government that it's just not safe to fly to or from there at the moment.

Aside from that, I've known loads of people who've been there and none have liked it. Huge purpose built resorts with gates and armed guards on them?! No thanks! I'd never be able to relax.

If you want some winter sun what's wrong with the good old Canaries?

Or do you just discriminate against Muslim countries

The religion practices discrimination against women. Anywhere that practices it will be ...discriminating against women.
Women and men are viewed as different and are segregated, and have different rules.

Just like Aparthied.

I choose not to spend my holiday money in countries whose socio-political systems I dislike
I went to the most non islamic part of Turkey and found the attitudes unacceptable
so shall limit my travel to non Muslim countries from now on

tabulah I'm sure you knew but I think a lot of people don't know.

A colleague of mine booked a trip earlier this year to Tunisia for the summer. I diplomatically questioned her choice and she was satisfied it was safe......

Then it happened. Families were devastated by the shootings.

She changed her booking with Thomson to Egypt! I again questioned her choice. She told me it was the only place she could get short notice.

Thankfully she was safe but the words frying pan and fire sprung to mind.

Horrible thought but my next guess is a major incident will happen in a Turkish resort.

I certainly wouldn't be planning a holiday to Turkey any time soon.

I'm even worried about Spain or Italy, never mind Turkey and Egypt.

As tourists stop going to places like Eqypt the terrorists will look at the next easy target. Spain and Italy won't be as easy as Egypt but with miles and miles of unguarded Coast line, closeish proximity to Turkey/Egypt I reckon that's where they'll head next.

Spain is just about as far from Turkey and Egypt as you can get and still be in the Med! And neither they nor Italy are part of the offensive in Syria/Iraq. I think France is probably the highest risk in Europe, followed by the UK. But our security services are good at stopping it.

Regardless, I don't think tourists are at particular risk in European countries aside from Turkey. I think tourists are only really at a particularly raised risk in countries where most of the population is Muslim and attacking tourists means you're much more likely only to kill westerners. In most of Europe that's not the case and they could do that attacking almost anywhere. So the risk to tourists is much lower as so many other options are available.

the locals had sacrificed a donkey on the boat to bless it by chopping the donkey's head off

Yes I've heard of similar - apparently some regarded it as a touch of "local colour"

The thing is that holiday companies can blather on about how they insist on the best standards for "their" clients, but as Shakshuka said, in the end the locals will always put image, tourist revenue and their own interests above safety

For me that means that, where interests and standards are too much at variance to our own, I'll visit those places rarely if at all

The catholic religion practises discrimination against women , extremely so in some countries.
Ah yes Zanzibar , the acceptable face of a country so poor , families force children as uyiung as three and four to leave home.
And the Maldives, in a 30 day state of emergency .....but sooooo posh

KenDodds
Name me the catholic country that has public beheadings?
Name me the Catholic country that bans women from driving?
Name me the catholic country that stones women to death for adultery in 2015?
Name me the Catholic country that tolerates the genital mutilation of children?

but YYY : Maldives is NOT a place to go as the resorts finance the politicians

As someone who lived in Egypt for many years and was sick fed up with it by the end, I'd like to clarify two points. One I have never ever heard of a donkey being sacrificed. Lambs do get sacrificed at Eid and certain other occasions but never donkeys. That's utter rubbish. Secondly the Christian minority in Egypt are as misogynistic as their Muslim neighbours. They also practice FGM, especially in upper Egypt. Christian women are a bit worse off, as they can never divorce (male or female). Muslim women in Egypt do have the legal right to get a divorce although it takes a long time but it is better than the Christian women.
I do see a lot of things wrong in Egyptian society and I bloody hated it by the end but I can't listen to misinformation like donkey sacrifice and not respond.

I hated Egypt when i when as a hairy little 13 year old arab girl (now a hairy little 26 year old arab girl, if youre interested!) we stayed at the Hyatt Regency which was supposed to be quite fancy but my dad couldnt let me out of his site becuase the men were disgustingly sleazy. Same for the markets.

I think the appeal is the cheap sun sea and sand in an exotic location but security is incredibly lax and the majority if men have no respect for western women/girls.

I agree with an above poster who said they think Turkey will be next, which is a shame because i personally think Turkey and the Turks are lovely.

this comes as a thompson jet narrowly missed a missile coming from sharm the week before the russian jet was downed!

It wasn't the week before. It was August.

Has that missile story been confirmed as true? That's fucking disgusting if that really happened and they continued to allow people to fly there.

Missile story true
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34754577
It is why UK flights stopped taking the route up across Sinai in the summer - they all went across the African side from then on

It was claimed at the time to be an exercise by the Egyptian military.

And the Maldives, in a 30 day state of emergency .....but sooooo posh

please tell me more.

I know its a muslim country but didn't know it was in a state of emergency.

ihatethecold:

www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/us-maldives-emergency-idUSKCN0SU10520151105#GFzkJEjqXk7beejr.97

www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/maldives

www.economist.com/news/asia/21676974-political-turmoil-erupts-maldives-after-arrest-vice-president-vice-president?zid=306&ah=1b164dbd43b0cb27ba0d4c3b12a5e227

Thanks, I wonder why I haven't seen this on the news at all?

TV news is facile space filling
you need to pick news sites that actually go into depth and analysis

I read the Economist cover to cover every week
I check the BBC news website right through every day
I listen to the Today programme every morning

and I would recommend that anybody considering booking a holiday as I am doing in another tab right now gets into the habit of doing the same

as for climate change and water wars, I read New Scientist each week as well

The Maldives has an incredibly repressive government. Beautiful as it is, I wouldn't go there.

And the Maldives have turned one whole island into a rubbish dump
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thilafushi
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00rk1hq

745 of my customers (well the Tour Operator I work for) are in Sharm as I type). Lovely 5 star hotels, great diving, superb all inclusive (if you pick the right hotel) and fantastic weather. I never fancied it but went once for a 10 night winter sun break, it was brilliant. Not everyone's cup of tea but some would say that about Benidorm (whole other thread I know).

I agree with an above poster who said they think Turkey will be next, which is a shame because i personally think Turkey and the Turks are lovely

i stuggle with them tbh, esp after seeing the program about the people with LD chained to beds and so on in institutions.