Egypt: Beyond Borders

I previously wrote about this TV show "Beyond Borders" and commented on their Israel and Northern Ireland episodes (mostly on the latter.) This week they went to Egypt and I think they did a really good job of bringing all the sides together. They had 2 Youth Group members, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and a supporter of the current military regime. Those are really the main groups involved in Egypt today. The crew also had to deal with the Egyptian military, secret police and regular police throughout their stay. I don't know a whole lot about recent Egyptian history especially within the past 4 years but did pay attention to what the Muslim Brotherhood had to say with regards to its relationship with Israel and the rest of the world. I was glad when the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was removed from power - the last thing the world needs are more Islamist extremists in power. It was interesting to hear the supporter of the current military regime state that no Arab can live in a democracy  - they always need a strong leader. There are certain other groups of people that have also wanted/needed a strong leader  - ie Russia and the Germans. Getting back to Egypt. It seems that Egypt is trying to self-isolate itself from the world. It has had a strong tourism industry which accounts for much of its money and yet starting on May 15, 2015 most countries (including the US, Canada, EU, etc) that could receive a Visa on Arrival will now have to get a visa from an Egyptian Embassy beforehand. I'm not sure if that also includes the Sinai - where citizens of the US, Israel and the EU can get a visa at the border valid only for the Sinai. If your economy depends heavily on tourism and you have some very cool and interesting sites then you should open yourself to the world and not restrict yourself. I don't know what will happen with regards to Egypt in general, but I am very interested in seeing next week's episode when they go to Sarajevo. I've never been to Sarajevo, but did go to other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro and met; Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrians.