Is this safe?

I think this, from a single female traveler to Egypt, says it better than I would. Obviously the recent attack in Cairo is very worrying, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't rethinking this entire adventure. But from everyone I've talked to and everything I've read, and contrary to popular perception, this region is safe for the traveler (that is, statistically as safe as any other region). Cairo, a city of 17 million, has an exceptionally low rate of violent crime (not pickpocketing, of course) that is enviable by any big American/European/Australian city, and is safe at all hours of the day and night (but I won't be wondering around at night, anyway). Cairenes welcome foreigners (including Americans) with open arms and overpriced souvenirs. New York, London, Madrid, and Tokyo (not to mention Mumbai in tourist-friendly India) have all been rocked by terrorist attacks that, without trying to sound cavalier or insensitive, have been significantly more dangerous than anything that has happened in Cairo or Amman. Yet those cities are all considered "safe" (I remember shortly after we left London in June 2007, the police discovered a car bomb filled with nails next to Hyde Park--our hostel was next to Hyde Park!). The risk of danger is real--I'm not denying that--but it is small. Egypt, Jordan, and Israel are not Switzerland, but they're also not Iraq.