On the 25th January 2011 the whole of Egypt was taken by surprise; the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the civilian and the army and most of all President Hosni Mubarak.

  Nobody could have really believed that such protests would have gathered such strength. However, the demonstrations, which then became the revolution, was started by the Egyptian youth after several years of protesting on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Throughout the previous  years there were small demonstrations, but especially after the most recent fake parliament elections it was obvious that corruption had increased and the protest groups became larger , exploded on 25th January  as revolution all over Egypt It was time to make change happen rather than hope for it.

So, the only way the voice of the youth could be heard was through social media – the form of media that could not be controlled by anyone – least of all Hosni Mubarak. Of course,

Egyptians everywhere were demanding more freedom, the removal of corruption and bribery from the core of all government departments, the change of the regime of the country which included Mubarak to step down and the removal of the Minister of Interior specifically because of the arrests and detaining of political people. We demanded that the Emergency Law be cancelled so that the police no longer have the power to just arrest anyone they choose for any reason they choose. The greatest change called for was the change of the constitution so that anyone could candidate themselves to become president other than the son of the previous president. This demand was met after a few days of protests. Once the protestors realised that their demands could really be met and their voices really were heard there was no stopping them and the protests became greater in number and in power. The youth asked for so much and got it. This year the heavens opened and they got more than they could ever have dreamed possible.

Little did people all over Egypt know that the things they were hoping for were about to come true. Little did the world know that hope and despair, frustration and anger, purpose and destiny were all boiling in the pot together and that on the 25th January the pot would boil over and spill out onto the streets for the whole world to see.

This has created a new face of Egypt. A face, which shows expression rather than hides it. A face that smiles from deep within at the changes and what this will mean for our children and our children’s children. A face with eyes that sparkle with hope and gladness. A face, which can look to see what changes are needed and can now speak for those changes to come into place with a voice which speaks on behalf of those who have no voice. The old face of Egypt showed powerlessness, poverty for many and despair that their country would never change so that they might enjoy the freedoms that many other countries enjoy. The changing face of Egypt was like a woman giving birth: painful, messy, long and tiring and sadly with much spilt blood. But the baby was born – the future Egypt has arrived. A new era has dawned.

So what has been achieved at the beginning of this new era? After 15 days of continuous protests every where in Egypt On the 11th Feb 2011President Hosni MubarakResigned and Passed Power to the army,  he has changed all the ministers in his Cabinet and the constitution has been changed so that anyone can choose to stand for election. Justice has also been served on the Minister of Interior and all the other corrupted ministers who are now facing court proceedings. There have also been many other political reforms, for example: Egyptian parliament will be re-elected in a free election with international control – without this protest Egypt would have stood under the dark clouds of control for maybe another 30 years and more. Changes made in Egypt through the original youth protests have also secured democracy for people across the whole of the Middle East: similar constitutional changes have happened in China, Jordan and Yemen. Syria and Bahrain have also started demonstrating to achieve what Egyptians all across the land have achieved in 2 weeks.

With this protest, Egypt will become, and already is, a so democratic society where the voices of the people determine what Egypt will be and will become again. The strength of the Ancient civilisation has risen again like a phoenix from the ashes. Egypt will take it’s right position in the world now – no longer will we be held back.

So, we invite you today not only to a land of Ancient Civilisation with Pharaohs,  tombs and pyramids but also to a land of  Egyptian youth, freedom and democracy where you can feel the heartbeat of the people which beats to a new sound – the sound of freedom.

The whole of Egypt welcomes you to visit us again and let our face see you. Let us smile on you with gladness. Let our eyes see you again. Let us show you the changes that we see which are not shown on the television. Let us show you the past, the present and the future of our country. Let us welcome you as we did before. Our face has changed and our heart remains the same.

Egypt Bureau 4 Travel & Tours