Here are some members of the armed police escort that accompanied The Idiot on his walk on the Mediterranean Sea in western Egypt. You’ll see them up close and personal when you scan the QR codes in The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Twenty Years Walking the Mediterranean. The final volume of the trilogy about the Idiot’s twenty-year walk around the Mediterranean was published last month and is available on amazon.
The Idiot and his hiking companion Michael Knipe kicked off their walk from Sidi Abd El-Rahman towards Mersa Matruh in western Egypt in typically idyllic circumstances.
The Idiot blithely points west towards the Libya border from his base camp at the Al Alamein Hotel in Sidi Abd El-Rahman, Egypt.
The Idiot commences his walk towards Libya on an empty Mediterranean beach in front of resort complexes that are entirely empty until summer.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The Idiot’s hiking companion and book editor Michael Knipe walks on an empty Mediterranean beach in western Egypt.
The Idiot’s hiking companion and book editor Michael Knipe takes a break on an empty Mediterranean beach in western Egypt.
The serene MedTrek towards the Libya border came to an end in just a few days when the duo were discovered by the Egyptian military and the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Police.
The Idiot meets Major Mohammad in the Egyptian Army near the army barracks at El Dabaa who sternly asks him “What the hell are you doing walking here by yourself?”
The Major warns him that “the army is everywhere on the coast and will stop you frequently, but have fun and don’t be too paranoid.”
Then, after discussing the distance he’s walked around the Mediterranean Sea, he asks The Idiot to pose for a selfie.
The Idiot is approached by the Tourism Police (the official name is Tourism and Antiquities Police) and told that he will not be allowed to walk any further without an armed escort.
“We protect tourists; that’s our job,” says one. “It doesn’t cost you a cent, and it’s for your own protection.”
The “protection” unit usually consists of four armed men, one or two who will occasionally walk with us on the seaside, and a pickup with the other two officers that will keep up with our MedTrekking group on a nearby highway.
The Idiot follows a member of the Tourism Police as he MedTreks 17 kilometers to the tip of the Ras El Hekma peninsula.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The Idiot meets his armed escort one morning on his walk towards Mersa Matruh in western Egypt.
“We just want you to be safe,” says one of the policemen.
The Idiot meets his armed escort on another morning on his walk towards Mersa Matruh in western Egypt.
The Idiot demonstrates his ability to fend off anyone — “There are bad people here,” said a member of the Tourism Police, though The Idiot never saw any of them or had any problems — attempting to interrupt his walk on the Egyptian coast.
(Photo: Michael Knipe)
The Idiot and a member of his armed escort on the Mediterranean Sea near Mersa Matruh, Egypt.
Members of The Idiot’s armed escort each asked to have a photo taken with The Idiot.
A member of The Idiot’s armed escort.
A member of The Idiot’s armed escort takes a photo of him just west of Mersa Matruh at Cleopatra’s Beach (that’s Cleopatra in the photo).
Read more about The Idiot’s walk across Egypt by buying a copy of The Idiot and the Odyssey III: Twenty Years Walking the Mediterranean on amazon.
Next week: You’ll meet Egyptians and foreigners encountered by The Idiot as he concludes his walk across Egypt at the Libya border.
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