I’m a female solo traveller and I would never visit Egypt alone after terrifying incident in the Cairo Bazar

Solo travel is something many young people want to experience, either to ‘find themselves’, or simply so they can see more of the world before settling down to work.

However, before you set off, you should thoroughly research where you’re going and make sure it’s a safe place for you to go alone.

A traveler has revealed why she would never visit Egypt alone and why she believes it is unsafe for women to do so.

Tara Katims (@tarkatims), 24, was in Egypt with her best friend when she lived the video – she replied to a commenter who wrote ‘wait, so it’s not safe for solo travellers?’

Answering the question along with some pictures from her trip, she said: “This is the Bazaar in Cairo that I went to with my best friend and I don’t even want to know what would have happened if I went alone.

Tara Katims (@tarkatims), 24, was in Egypt with her best friend when she made the video – she responded to a commenter who wrote ‘wait so it’s not safe for solo travellers?’

Answering the question along with some pictures from her trip, she said: “This is the Bazaar in Cairo where I went with my best friend and I don’t even want to know what would have happened if I went alone.”

“There were tons of men harassing us, we just wore sunglasses, kept our heads down and pretended we couldn’t understand, but then we really lost it.

‘It was so overwhelming. This elderly looking guy appeared and said ‘I can tell you guys are really lost’ – he spoke good English and was like I was going to take you back to the main part of the bazaar.

She continued ‘We thought he was very nice and so we followed him, he took us back to his perfume shop and asked us to check it out.

“He ushered us into what amounts to a perfume cabinet and then closed the door.

“For an hour and a half he was rubbing essential oils and different perfumes on us and we tried to leave several times, but he wouldn’t let us.

“There was no ventilation here and I thought I was going to get rid of the fumes.

“Eventually we realized he wouldn’t let us leave until we bought something and even when we did buy something he would try to put us inside our wallets and grab our money and then chase us down the street.”

She said: “There were tons of men harassing us, we just kept our sunglasses on, our heads down and pretended we couldn’t understand, but then we really lost it.”

She continued ‘We thought he was very nice and so we followed him, leading us back to his perfume shop and delighted for us to check it out’

The TikToker concluded ‘We left but I seriously don’t know what I would have done in this situation if I wasn’t with my best friend and I really wouldn’t recommend a girl to travel to Egypt alone because We had a lot of situations like this happen to us and it was difficult to navigate at times.’

The area the pair were visiting was Kahn El Khalili Bazar, somewhere they thought would be safe as it looked touristy online.

Adding photos of the area, she explained ‘Only one part looked like this, the rest was so dirty and crowded.

“There are tour guides who can take you here and it’s worth having a local speaker, as it’s so easy to get lost. Don’t let the little kittens fool you, the bazaar is not safe to do alone.’

Advice ‘There are tour guides who can take you here and it’s worth having a local speaker as it’s so easy to get lost.

“I really thought they were going to lock me in that room. We went to get Koshari to heal the trauma afterwards.

“Koshari is a dish you must try, this place is the safest (Abou Tarek) to go here alone, they won’t lock you in a closet.”

Commenters agreed with the TikToker’s advice, writing “I never hear good stories about Egypt” and “I’ve done 25+ countries alone.” I’m glad I didn’t do Egypt solo’.

Another girl wrote that she had a similar experience: ‘Same thing happened to me! We were lost, an old man said he would show us, took us to his shop and wouldn’t let us leave. Terrifying.’

The original poster replied ‘I’m so sorry but I’m also so glad we’re talking about this so other girls don’t fall for this crap!!!’

Tara explained “For an hour and a half he was rubbing essential oils and different perfumes on us and we tried to leave several times but he wouldn’t let us.”

She told MailOnline that the advice she would give to women who choose to travel there is to “always take Ubers, so there’s a record of where you’re going and who’s taking you places”.

One viewer advised ‘It’s important to do your research and be prepared when traveling abroad, especially in a country like Egypt. Strict boundaries and dress conservatively’.

However, the TikToker argued that she had ‘researched for the past year’ and also ‘dressed as conservatively’ as she could during the backpacking trip.

She told MailOnline that the advice she would give to women who choose to travel there is to ‘always take Ubers so there’s a record of where you’re going and who’s taking you places’.

Second, ‘assume you are ripped off as a tourist 100% of the time and bargain when you shop on the street and wear baggy clothes and travel with tour guides as much as possible.’

Finally, it’s good to ‘Learn how to say thanks, “Shukran”, as the locals appreciate it.’