The U.S. Embassy released a statement last week, warning tourists visiting Egypt's Giza pyramids that nearby vendors had intensified their business tactics-some even becoming aggressive and violent in efforts to make a sale.
"U.S. citizens should elevate their situational awareness when traveling to the pyramids, avoid any late evening or night travel, utilize a recommended or trusted guide and closely guard valuables," a message posted on the embassy's site said.
Egypt's Antiquities' Ministry bashed the cautionary message, saying the need to be hyper-aware and cautious around vendors was "baseless," according to the Associated Press.
Some say the country's increasingly hollow economy-one of the worst financial crises Cairo has seen in the recent past-is to blame for the aggression. After the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 that dethroned authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak, tourism funds have plummeted.
Some travelers who did make the trip to El Giza to experience one of the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World said that vendors approach taxis and cars and pound on the windows to pressure visitors to pay for a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, reported USA Today.
Sometimes, vendors will also try to pry open vehicle's doors. The embassy said a handful of visitors have reported being frightened away.
But minister of antiquities Ahmed Eissa maintained that the pyramid complex at Giza is not dangerous, adding that his office has not taken in any complaints from tourists.
Others, including Graham Harman, professor of philosophy at the American University claim the vendors' aggression is all too real.
"It's a new level of frightening," he told USA Today.
Harman is from Iowa, but has dwelled in Cairo for the past 13 years. He often visits the pyramids by taxi, and claims that the recent past has marked a rise in harassment. He told USA Today that in March, he and his wife went to Giza, only to be badgered by vendors and police, who asked him for money.
"This was something new," he said. "People were much more aggressive."
