Need Advice for Egypt

[takeallthesunset]

Hello everyone, I'll be visiting Egypt later this year and I have some question, do they really confiscate and restrict some cameras on some specific places destinations there? and any advices for do's and don't when in coming to Egypt. I would surely like to hear your advices!

 

[GrandNagus50]

Hello, I am going to Egypt in October. I will share that there is information about photo policy and "do's and don't" elsewhere on the Internet if do some digging around. My understanding is that 1) you cannot take photos of anything related to the Egyptian military or national security apparatus. This might mean no photos during internal flights, e.g., from Cairo to Luxor. There are some museums where photography is not permitted, and there are other locations where one needs to purchase a photo pass. Apparently all of the restrictions have been relaxed somewhat in recent years, partly because of the tidal wave of smartphone users taking photos, something that is hard to regulate, let alone stop.

The Egyptian government passed a "Photo Decree" in 2022 that loosened restrictions of tourist photography generally: for details, see

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/1238/472831/Egypt/Tourism/Egypt-allows-personal-photography-in-public-places.aspx

OTOH, there is some suspicion (I am told) about taking photos of people without their permission, and taking photos of children is prohibited. I have gathered that in some cases people will ask for a small amount of money to have their photo taken. This is not uncommon throughout the world.

 

[GrandNagus50]

Now that we are on the subject of photography on Egypt tours, I am starting to think about what kinds of photos I might take on my (National Geographic) tour in October, and what gear to bring and not bring. My initial inclination is that my touristy photos will look pretty much like everyone else's, so why put a lot of effort into it? I might be best off just taking a compact point and shoot type camera or maybe my Sony RX10iv.

But then, what if I encounter some really cool Egyptian birds or animals? I would like to have a fighting chance of getting a photo or two, but I sure am not going to take a big telephoto rig around on this tour . What to do?

Has anyone in the forum been on a "general tourism" trip to Old Egypt? Photo-related experience to share, advice to give? Appreciated!

Doug Greenberg

 

[hef19898]

Not to Egypt, but to other Arab countries, but I guess generally the same applies to Egypt (besides local laws of course).

- landscapes, those are great depending on where you go, so prepare for that (sunrise/set over the Nile, the desert...)

- I do not differnciate between general tourism and photography trips, but that is just me

- architecture, from details to the big picture, you will be surpised how many great images can be taken even at the most famous and photographed locations

- ask people before taking pictures of them, showing them the camera usually is enough (I don't take pictures of people, other people I know do without problems as long as you ask)

- I could imagine that there is some wildlife along the Nile, so something longer but not a 800mm prime woupd be a good thing, this also helps with detailed landscape and architecture images

- never ever take images of police, military nor their buildings or installations, they don't like that there, and they look

- unless they ask you too, happens sometimes for some reason

I wouldn't go without my gear to Egypt, I'd regret it forever. That would mean two bodies (one for me, a DX one as backup and for family), a short lense, something like a 24-120 and something longer (around 300 or so, or a zoom covering that). Whether or not I'd take a Macro lense would depend on space, but propably yes.

That being said, I went to Tunesia with a D700, 18-35 (?) and a 24-120 and didn't really miss anything. That was before I started taking landscapes with longer lenses so.

 

[GrandNagus50]

My gut level sentiments align with what hef says above, but---the blog account I read online by a guy who went on the same Nationa Geo (Disney :-( ) Egypt trip last fall indicated that the generally regimented nature of this kind of expedition makes "serious" photography difficult. There is lots of lining up, being herded through the various sites, and then back on the bus. Etc. On his trip, he was the only person in his group who used a camera instead of a phone to take pictures.

On the other hand, my National Geo expert for this trip is a fellow named David Wright, who is a professional photographer/videographer. I would assume that he would encourage people to stretch themselves photographically even within the context of an "industrial tourism" experience.

So at this moment I am (blissfully) undecided about what kind of kit to bring to Egypt. My fallback is to use the venerable Sony RX10IV, which does it all reasonably well. Since on my Africa trip in 2019 my previous Sony, the RX10iii took a fatal fall (this camera is terrific but not terribly sturdy in some ways), I would bring a small sensor point and shoot as a backup.

But if indeed our expert is a professional photographer, I would be tempted to bring along a more elaborate kit, maybe even a small camera bag. Fortunately I still have almost three months to make up my mind about all this.

Doug Greenberg

 

[Anthony]

There are still uncertainties about what is permitted. Egypt seems to be much more restrictive than when I was there in 2009.

From the article:

"Taking or publishing photographs that may damage the country’s image, offend its citizens, or violate public morals is prohibited, so are photographing children and taking and publishing photos of Egyptian citizens without their written consent."

There are some broad terms there, and this allows for local police interpretation. For example, would photographing a scene (eg a pyramid) which has children and Egyptian adults as an incidental inclusion be prohibited, or does the prohibition only apply if the individuals are recognisable and/or the main subject of the image? Is the restriction on taking and publishing photos of individuals one restriction (taking and publishing) or two (a taking restriction and a separate publishing restriction)? It would seem that asking for and receiving permission would only be sufficient if the permission was recorded in writing. That has its own difficulties if the subject can only read and write Arabic and the photographer can only speak English.

It may become clearer if one can read the Decree, but the only copy I have been able to find is in Arablic (which I cannot read).

Proceed with caution.

 

[GrandNagus50]

Ok, having chatted with the National Geographic "expert" who will accompany our tour in October (he is a photographer/videographer), I am fairly confident that in the touristy areas we will be visiting there will be few or no problems regarding restrictions on photography. However, I have discovered, to my amazement and dismay, that bringing binoculars on the tour is strictly forbidden (!) This is because the attitude of the Egyptian authorities regarding binoculars is dicey, i.e., there is a good chance that one's binocs will be confiscated at the Cairo Airport. Apparently, binoculars are associated with espionage and terrorism. I have read some discussions in another forum (BirdForum) which indicate that people encounter problems bringing binoculars into other Middle Eastern countries, unpredictably.