BootsnAll Travel Community

Can some other female travelers weigh in on their experiences in the Middle East? I have always wanted to go and now have the opportunity but don't want to be naive (one way or the other) about the region. Any thoughts are welcome!

Well, I'm not a woman, and I'm sure that my experience travelling the region with my girlfriend will differ somewhat from your experience on your own. Egypt in particular you'll probably get some unwanted attention, though at the same time, it should be possible to hook up with other travellers there to reduce that. In the other Arab countries we visited, the treatment of women is not so aggressive...certainly still sexist, but more in a "protecting them" kind of way, which may be frustrating, but not dangerous. Turkey seemed to mix the two, but not so aggressive as I heard anyone complain.

Anyway, I thought I'd point you in the direction of a few stories I read on the subject while researching my own trip:
- Cairo to Istanbul in a G-String
- A Woman Can't Go to the Middle East
- Women & Islam: Tales from the Road

I'm not sure those links offer the most helpful information. I would recommend talking with loads of people because not only was the Women & Islam analysis very racist, it has not been my experience ever, and I've been many times to Cairo and beyond. Experiences vary, and no doubt being a woman traveling solo has consequences, but those don't merit a tirade against "Muslim" men.

I can only speak for travel in Israel, but as a single woman who has lived here for the most part since 1981, I have NEVER had any problems traveling around Israel (usually by bus) on my own.

So - come on over - and have a great time!

suzanne

Hi,

I think the best and most simple advice is this: wear long and slightly loose fitting clothing. That means long pants or a long skirt (try to avoid the kind with slits) and shirts with long sleeves. Seriously that's it Bring a scarf if when visitng a Mosque.

Oh as for that article about traveling as a women in the Islamic world---yeah as someone else noted it sucks---the author does a great job of not proving her point in either a.) citing anything from the Quran to prove her point and b.) Assuming that all the sleazy men she was unfortunate enough to meet were Muslim and automatically acted in an Islamic manner.

Cheers,

Samantha***

Well, I'm a bit embarassed and have been avoiding this thread as a result.

The Women & Islam: Tales from the Road article that I linked - I hadn't actually read the whole thing. The other two, I had read, and rather enjoyed. Since it came up in a search, and from the first paragraph seemed applicable, I simply linked the third, on the assumption that articles posted on Boots are usually good.

On reviewing the whole thing, it doesn't really jive with what my girlfriend experienced, and seems to be written from the very limited point of view of visiting only two countries - probably the two (Morocco & Egypt) that least represent the Islamic world as a whole.

I'm told assuming things makes an ass out of u and me, but apparently, as it turns out, it's just made an ass out me.

indeed.


I can understand where the author of that article is coming from, in a way, and I do think it's based on a rather limited experience. I think that a limited understanding of Islam could lead one to think many of the things the author did. My own understanding of Islam is certainly limited, but my experience in Muslim countries was nothing like what the author described.

Granted, I travelled with a partner the entire time, but there were times when I ventured out alone, and indeed, one time we were in fact approached by a man in traditional garb (I think it would be called a galabiyah(?) in Egypt), who thanked me for respecting their ways and dressing appropriately. This was in Aswan, where many of the tourists they see are wearing shorts and mini tanks because of the heat. I was wearing either pants or an ankle length skirt (loose), and a t-shirt - I believe it was short sleeved, but covered most everything that should be except for the arms.

The only other place I was approached was in Istanbul, and at that I wasn't really sure what it was about. I was anxious about being harassed as I was walking alone (I've heard that Istanbul is one of the places to be a little more wary), so was walking quickly, but I'm pretty sure he just asked me if I was going to Mosque. I have no idea why. I don't think I look Turkish, or Muslim, certainly wasn't wearing a scarf....

Anyway, with regards to the article and Muslim men, our experience in other Muslim countries (ie, not Egypt or Morrocco), was fairly different. In Jordan and Syria, the women didn't appear to have disappeared, we saw them quite frequently, though I do recall they often were in groups. (don't think that's a problem, just a cultural difference, maybe)
In Damascus, we encountered a group of young women who were VERY liberally dressed (as in, a couple of them were dressed in a fashion that I, as a Western woman, wouldn't even dress). This was in a restaurant that obviously catered to a certain crowd, and they appeared to arrive and depart via private vehicle or taxi - ie, not wandering down the street dressed that way.

In Turkey, a Muslim, though not Arab, country, especially in the west, women were dressed often as liberal as Europeans or North Americans. In fact, in Antakya, near the Syrian border, we were shocked to see women in sun dresses, in public, walking down the street. This would not be the norm throughout the country, certainly the interior and eastern parts are more conservative, but the point is, you can't generalize.
Of course, the way that women dress doesn't address the issue of how men behave, but I think it's a fairly safe assumption that they wouldn't be dressing that way at all if the risk of harrassment was high.

Our experience with regards to hospitality, level of conservatism, level of female interaction (it's true, by Jordan I was starting to feel a little deprived of female interaction, but it didn't last), etc. varied considerably from town to town, nevermind country to country.

The biggest, most important thing, as has been mentioned so many times, is to dress as conservatively as possible (buy some clothes locally, if need be - we found that Arabs (in some parts, again not to generalize) had a great sense of fashion), and to behave in a somewhat subversive manner, if possible. This is a very difficult thing for many Western women to accept, and it may be a difficult thing when travelling alone, I don't know, but I think not being too agressive helps in allaying the generalizations that some may have about Western women.

(by the way, I find it ironic that the author is judging Muslim men in just the way she doesn't want western women judged.)

sorry, bit of a long post.