JEDDAH — Egypt has always been a favorite destination for Saudis with many of them heading there during Eid and summer vacations and also for long weekends. The country's proximity means many Saudis consider Egypt to be their second home and not just a once-in-a-while tourist destination. Badaria Muhammad, a Saudi, loves traveling to Egypt. Following the revolution, she was like many other Saudis afraid of traveling there, but has been frequenting the country once more since last year. “When people see Saudis back in Egypt they can be sure that it's safe. I have visited Egypt six times since last year, sometimes for just a weekend. I love Egypt and I have very special and fond memories of my time there. I'm so happy that we are able again as Saudis to travel to Egypt for weekends. It's only two hours away on plane and we often bump into family and friends when there,” she said. “I went to Egypt in July and I'm planning to go again in January. My non-Saudi friends tell me that they believe that Egypt is now safe because Saudis are once more visiting the country in droves and even spending weekends there. I'm also happy that Egypt encourages people and tourists from different nationalities to visit the country,” she said. Umm Khaled believes that Egypt will always be a second home for Saudis. She stopped visiting Egypt after the Jan. 25 revolution but has begun visiting the country frequently since the June 30 revolution. “I travel to many countries, but none of them has the warmth that you find in Egypt. I have traveled to Egypt five times since June. I'm so happy that now we can spend our time again in Egypt,” Umm Khaled said. “There were many times when we wanted to visit Egypt for a weekend, but couldn't because the situation wasn't right. Now that things are getting better, we can go again for the weekends. Egypt is a country where you don't have to be rich to have a good time,” she said. “I always encourage my relatives to travel to Egypt. All what we want as Saudis is to see tourism buzzing again in Egypt. As Saudis, we are doing our little bit by visiting Egypt once more. You can see that the people of Egypt are thankful that we are coming back, this you can see in their eyes,” she said. Fayez Abdullah met his wife in Egypt 10 years ago. As a result, the country has a special place in their hearts. “Saudis love going to Egypt. My wife loves to go away for a weekend and we avoided Egypt after 2011. However, we managed to go there this summer. Many Saudis love to spend their long and short vacations in Egypt,” he said. “We have a house there which we couldn't visit after the Jan. 25 revolution. However, we've traveled to Egypt three times this year. We have spent two separate weekends there and also this summer we spent two to three weeks there. Many of our friends went during the summer and many are also planning to go during the school mid-year vacation," he said. "Egypt is special place for Saudis. We always ask people to travel to Egypt because we consider it our second home. We are planning to travel again soon," he said.
