Hope all our friends at South Sinai are safe. Know this must be a difficult time for all of them both personally and business wise.

I feel the same way Pam been thinking about them a lot for the last few days. Would email but with the internet shut down that will not work.

I met so many wonderful Egyptians on my travels to Egypt I just cannnot imagine how this is affecting them. So much of Egypt's economy relies on the tourist industry and a huge number of jobs are closely related to this industry. If the tourists stop coming can you imagine the unemployment numbers!

My hopes are for a good outcome with a better government and a bright future for Egypt. Time will tell.

We feel the same way. We had such a wonderful trip to Egypt on Nile and met such wonderful people especially at South Sinai. Our positive thoughts and prayers are for a peaceful and prosperous outcome.

I have worried about them this entire time. I know Hossam lives out of town, because we dropped him off that night. Hopefully any of them who live closer in have taken refuge with friends on the outskirts of town.

Antonie is far enough out of town I am sure he is fine but Henry and Hany I am not sure where they live. Both have small children. Reports on TV focus on the protesters but never talk about how this is affecting the people not in the streets - are the schools open for instance?

Ngaire, I agree completely - we hope all of our Egyptian hosts are riding out these disruptions in safety.

The reports talk about tens of thousands of people in the streets. Given the population of Cairo, that's not a huge number of people. I take little comfort that the minister of intelligence is named the vice president.

BBC reports this morning included the following information:

"Despite an impromptu guard made up of volunteers, at least two looters managed to get into Cairo's museum of antiquities, damaging some of the exhibits.

"They were able, these two people to enter the Cairo museum from the [roof] and they destroyed two mummies and they opened one case," said Zahi Hawass, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities."

We were in Cairo on election day a few years ago. Traffic was a mess as open trucks were stuffed with people being driven to the polls, many waving huge signs. Mubarek won with something like 98% of the vote in this 'free' election. He's unlikely to give up without a huge fight.

Cheers, Anne

I read that the problems are the wild hoodlums from the oytskirtsnof the city. The middle class neighborhoods near the Fairmont are protecting their homes by standing outside of them with knives. It was reported that the hoodlums are riding motorcycles. Children are being kept home because of the escaped prisoners.