The news coverage about the riots and chaos as a result out of the anti Islam movie definitely looked scary and it makes as if the whole city is under siege.
This is incorrect. The street clashes were limited to 1 square kilometers near the US embassy and never really threatened to engulf the city. This is because most Egyptians are restrained in their responses to the cheap provocations generated by the movie.
I live in Dokki area, which is about 5 minutes taxi ride from the US embassy which is located in area called Garden City. Life continues as normal in my area as well as downtown (which was 2 minutes away from the area of clashes). Cairo is a big city and full of people – any clashes in the city are very isolated in specific places and they never spread to neighboring area – this is because the protests and its responses are always have specific target in mind.
The bottom line is, if you are planning to come to Egypt, go ahead. It is safe here despite the headlines.
