Overly aggressive vendors at Egypt's pyramids are becoming more aggressive and is being criticized by the U.S. for their recent incidents against tourists.
The embassy message sent out last week maintained that Americans should "elevate their situational awareness" while visiting the great wonders due to a "lack of visible security or police" presence surrounding the area.
However, some are saying that the police are not missing in action there. Graham Harman, an associate provost at American University in Cairo, recounted an experience in March, where his wife was harassed, but the police asked for money.
"This was something new. People were much more aggressive," he commented.
USA Today reported that stable owners who provide horseback rides to the pyramids are in hard-pressed situations to pay back the hay fed on loans. They have been harassing people who are taking taxis in hopes that they will spend money on the horseback rides.
The financial despair is fueling the aggression amidst diminished tourism across the country. Tourism is the main source of income for many Egyptians.
The Antiquities Ministry in Egypt insisted however that Giza's pyramid areas are "totally secure" and that the overall situation for tourists are improving, not getting worse.
Batulao83 commented on his YouTube video saying, "I could have admired the pyramids more if not for the most irritating vendors in the world in Egypt. Everywhere we go, Luxor, Valley of the Kings, Aswan, Abu Simbel they put their wares in front of your face trying to unsettle you but instead of buying, we get scared of them because they were like the annoying flies of Egypt, zooming, overwhelming, stressing, you just do not want to buy. So instead of having sales, we in the group did not buy a thing. We bought in the tour boat while cruising the Nile."
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