Local Man Returns Home From Egypt
SLIPPERY ROCK (KDKA) -- A Butler County man is back home in Slippery Rock after his first trip to Egypt.
Jim Atwell, 65, told KDKA-TV that the first couple of weeks went as scheduled, but the last few days were harrowing.
Atwell, a history buff, went to Egypt after he met Kerrie Guy, an Australian woman, on Facebook. She lives in Egypt, speaks Arabic and works as an Egyptian tour guide.
Guy suggested he visit Egypt and last month he made the trip. He couldn't have imagined that he'd end up in the middle of the turmoil now unfolding there.
Toward the end of his stay late last week, he says he was at the home of Guy's friend in the outskirts of Cairo. Atwell says the friend stayed up all night with guns and sticks to deter looters.
Atwell says it was hard to get to the airport because of the curfew and lack of taxis. On his way to the airport, he saw torched high-rises and burned out cars along the way.
Atwell said he'd like to go back to Egypt as early as this fall once things settle down.
