At the Pyramids, Egyptians pine for Americans

His years in the desert taught him much about the mysteries of this complicated world. But, he says, they also taught him that sometimes life boils down to very simple equations.

"I am a camel man," explains Walid Mohammed Abo Basha, who has been giving camelback tours around the ancient Pyramids of Giza for 22 years. "Americans are camel riders. I want them here."

Egypt's tourism industry - which accounts for a quarter of the country's economy - has been suffering for more than a decade. The crisis, which began with the first Gulf War in 1991 and escalated after the terrorist attacks on tourists at Luxor, Egypt, in 1997, intensified even further after Sept. 11, 2001. Many Western holidaymakers chose to stay off planes in general and away from Arab countries in particular.

And now, with uncertainty during and potentially after war in Iraq - at the height of the usual tourist season, with April sunshine gently enveloping this land - the industry looks to be grinding to a complete halt.

"Its not only the old fears about safety, its psychological now," says Omar Hefny, an Egyptologist and high-end tour guide. "When people see death and destruction on their TVs, they want to stay close to home. They don't have the mood to travel and explore."

And, he admits, when Americans see images of angry demonstrators in Egypt burning US flags and cheering on the Iraqis against coalition troops, "they certainly don't get into the mood to explore here."

But many Egyptians, while furious with President Bush and easily spouting anti-American rhetoric, are begging for one kind of American - the tourist kind - to pay a call. "The French are not scared to come here," says Mr. Basha, "because they come with 'sympathy in their eyes,' for Arabs." But, concludes this man, who wishes Saddam Hussein good health and a long life, "Never mind about the eyes right now, we are more interested in pockets."

Egyptian Tourism Minister Mamdouh al-Beltagi predicts the war in Iraq will scare away some 1.5 million tourists this year, and revenues will fall by about 38 percent. All told, officials here say the war in Iraq could cost Egypt's economy more than $8 billion in tourism revenues, direct investment, trade, and hard-currency remittances from Egyptians working in the Gulf.

And, while the US forgave Egypt $7 billion, or two-thirds, of its debt during the 1991 Gulf War - after President Hosni Mubarak sent 36,000 troops to help allied forces - this time around, with Mubarak officially condemning the war, Egypt is not expecting any financial bailout.

Basha, a son and grandson of a camel guides, and a father of five aspiring future guides, had a successful career until recently, making up to 200 pounds ($35) a day. With the money, he built a home: a two-story brick house with a shed underneath for the camel, a 7-year-old beauty named Meky Muse, after the famed Disney rodent.

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