Tourist Police Escorts

In the remote areas between Cairo and Luxor we were escorted by the Tourist Police. The Chevy truck in front of us in this video was one of our escorts. Our escorts consisted of a driver and front passenger. In the back of the truck there were two (or more) soldiers (tourist police) with machine guns. We're not sure who they were protecting us from. Tourism is a major income producer for Egypt and they go to great lengths to protect this part of their economy. The Tourist Police escort you everywhere in the more remote regions. There are many check points along the way and they keep tabs on you at all times. They communicate back and forth by cell phones and we were forced to keep to a strict schedule. Dallying in these areas wasn't allowed. We even had a Tourist Policeman riding in our van the entire time. At check points they would sometimes get out and another one would join us. As you can see from this video, the Tourist Police don't follow the traffic patterns, they go right through traffic, like an ambulance. When they need people to move to the side they use a siren. It allows for better driving times than you'd get if you didn't have their assistance, but it was a bit embarrassing to be hurried through congested areas. It made me feel too elitist, but I appreciated the protection and service these guys provide.