Odd question but do you get hassled in Morocco or Egypt?

[spudcounter]

Dh thinks that as soon as you step outside the door there will be people trying to sell you things...?? Isn't keen to go on holiday there but I'm not so sure...

Hi spud,

Spent my honeymoon in Luxor and Cairo, 10 days in total. In Cairo is is massive city so although people are very chatty, and try to engage you in conversation they will accept it if you say no and move on. however in Luxor it seemed to be that because the total population there was employed in some form to service tourists that they felt agrieved if you tried to take time out from their chats/ sales pitches to take in the sites at your own pace. Also you have to barter for everything over there- even a bottle of water. This can get very waring after a while and you just wish there were shops with price tickets to speed up looking round.
Lovely to go see though.

Went to Morocco about 6 years ago now (Marrakesh) and got horribly hassled. Couldn't look at anything in a shop or you'd end up being hassled to buy. Once got my arm grabbed in an attempt to prevent me leaving a shop.

Ended up hardly bringing anything back with me because it was just too stressful to actually go shopping for souvenirs.

I loved Marrakech and didn't feel I was hassled at all, BUT I have lived in the M East before, and can speak some arabic, and so perhaps was able to tune quite a lot of it out. Have certainly had friends who didn't much enjoy the souk experience. Have only been to the red sea in Egypt, and had no problems there at all.

Never been to Egypt but guess pretty similar.

Morocco you don't get hassled just walking in the street.
If you go into a souk, they will be sitting on the doorstep and invite you into their shops. As there are rows after rows of shop, well yes, if you are not in the mood you will feel hassled!!
It's part of the culture. People are chatty and inquisitive.
Interracting with tourists is how they make a living.
It's the same (if not worse) throughout asia where they are extremely pushy.

If that's something DH can't cope with then better go to an all modern western country.

Morocco was hell for hassling. From the moment I stepped off the ferry in Tangiers I was hassled. Just as bad in Marrakesh - I too bought hardly anything, it's too stressful! I began to dread leaving the hotel and it was utter heaven to go to the coast (Essoueira) where they didn't hassle.

my sister went to morocco in the 70s and was frequently asked if her dad would trade her for a few camels. (she's very blonde). she also came back with a moroccan but it didn't last long.

Lived in Morocco for a while and didn't feel hassled there except for once with this guy following us down the street asking to be our guide and he WOULD not give up. It was seriously annoying. Apart from that though, I was ok, but then I'd say "look I'm not a tourist, I live here!" They'd laugh and let it go then.

In Egypt we were staying at the Red Sea and there were just a few shops for tourists in our area. If you ran the gauntlet, yes they'd come out and try and get you to come in and they were persistant with it. You could avoid that row of shops though and just not go there.

Luxor, yes. You do get hassled but there are police there who will tell people to leave you alone if they see you look bothered by it. Just don't engage at all in any conversation in any language. Once you do, you're lost.

Didn't try wandering about Cairo on my own so don't know how that would pan out. We went there on an organised tour so we weren't hassled in any way. Our guide just dealt with everything.

Yes you will get hassled to buy things. No that shouldn't put you off going! Just walk firmly and say NO THANK YOU. It's not that difficult, honestly. If you are really really freaked out about it, then you can hire a guide in Marrakesh to walk round the souks with, and they'll do the haggling for you.

Sorry but we got hassled quite a bit in Morocco - me, dh, bf and my mum. Worse in Marrakesh but not so bad in the smaller, quieter resorts on the coast. We didn't wander around in shorts and t-shirts, dressed conservatively but probably still stuck out like sore thumbs. It was a mixture of trying to sell us stuff, trying to persuade us to employ them as guides, begging and some fairly overtly sexual behaviour (god knows why, we're not exactly stunners!) - my mum (aged 65) had her bum pinched several times - I think she was flattered the first time but the novelty wore off pretty quickly. It was very wearing tbh but overall we still enjoyed ourselves as we did expect a certain degree of hassle, although, having said that, I did think that sort of thing was less common these days.

I've just booked a holiday in Essaouira (Morocco) for the end of April. I've been there before (on my own ) and didn't get hassled too much.

This time I'm going with my partner, my daughter and two stepsons, so anticipate very little hassle.

Agree with sssandy2 that an organised tour is a good idea - we were on a totally diy trip and probably looked a bit clueless and vulnerable!

We went to Essaouira and didn't get hassled at all which was a relief after Marrakesh.

just don't walk around in little shorts and strappy vests and then complain about being hassled by the locals (not that I'm saying you would do this, but you see plenty of tourists who do!)

Yes you'll get hassled to buy things, but just be insistant if you don't want anything, and barter and join in the hassling if you do! It's great fun.

DS is blonde, when we went to see the pyramids he was mobbed by local kids on a school trip there, I couldn't get to him through the sea of kids, security guards had to push them all away and rescue him from all the kisses being planted on him. Lots of locals asked to take his photo too, he was the main attraction for them, not the pyramids! It was very funny.

Got hassled in Cairo but in a horrible sexual way. Although I was with a female friend and we both early 20s at the time, though dressed modestly.

It was so unpleasant in the end my friend refused to leave the hotel. I eventually persudaded her to go out to dinner on our last night but just as we were leaving after a nice meal a middle aged man walked over and said something really obscene. We both swore never to go back to Cairo and I have never gone to North Africa since.

Got horribly hassled around the pyramids and sphynx. It ruined the trip. We couldn't even take a photo without the hasslers getting in the way and then demanding payment for the photo. Three of four of them were at us at a time. They even rode their camels straight at us, which was scary. The police just looked the other way.

Taba Heights on the Red Sea was totally the opposite. Relaxing and lovely. I didn't mind buying stuff there and giving the lovely polite hotel staff lots of tips for their kindness and politeness.

the best thing to do is avoid eye contact with men,also if you ingage in any friendly talk they take it that you fancy them.

unfortunately lots of single women go there on sex holidays, so they see white women as easy targets or we are all up for it.

in egypt had two waiters comming on to me while sat next to dh.

I've done 2 trips to Egypt for 2 weeks, trawling up and down the country. the first time i didn't notice it. The 2nd time i felt hassled and put upon, but really only in Cairo. Don't let that put you off a holiday. hen i ent to the ME to live I'd go to the souk ith (sorry W not wokring prop.) dark glasses on to avoid eye contact. that worked well

I wore an ankle length skirt and long sleeved top in Morocco and got hassled. I've got blonde hair and did wonder whether I should have covered it with a scarf but I was bloody boiling as it was!

yep definately agree with the others who said avoid eye contact.

Haven't been to either place, but it's very bad in Asia. You need to be very strong and have good bargaining skills. It might help if you learn a bit of the language.