U.S. Embassy in Cairo warns tourists away from Giza Pyramids

Tourists heading to Egypt may want to rethink their trip: The U.S. Embassy in Cairo is telling visitors to stay away from a main attraction -- the pyramids in Giza -- unless they go with a "trusted guide."

Located outside of Cairo, the ancient wonders manage to "still live up to more than 4,000 years of hype," according to the Lonely Planet travel guide. And no real mystery there: This is the site of the iconic Great Pyramids, including the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The sternly worded government advisory specifically details an increase in experiences with "overaggressive vendors" bordering on criminal conduct and a visible lack of police presence.

The statement adds:

"Other more serious incidents have been reported involving vehicles nearing the pyramids, with angry groups of individuals surrounding and pounding on the vehicles -- and in some cases attempting to open the vehicle's doors. While the motive is less clear (possibly related to carriage operators wanting fares), it has severely frightened several visitors.

A common theme from many of these reports is the lack of visible security or police in the vicinity of the pyramids. U.S. citizens should elevate their situational awareness when traveling to the pyramids, avoid any late evening or night travel, utilize a recommended or trusted guide, and closely guard valuables."

This news is bad for vacationers but worse for the Egyptian government, which employs an eye-popping 18 million people in the tourism industry, according to CNN.

In 2012, CNN reports, the country brought in $10.1 billion from the tourist industry. The number of tourists has slowed over the past few years, falling "from 14 million in 2010 to 10.2 million in 2011, and 10.5 million for 2012," with the upsurge in 2012 taking place mainly outside of Cairo.

Still, the World Economic Forum recently ranked the country lowest in terms of safety among travel destinations.

Maybe that's the point for war-torn Syria, which recently issued a travel advisory of its own warning its citizens against travel to Turkey due to the "violence of [Prime Minister] Erdogan's government against peaceful protesters."

The Atlantic Wire noted the irony, writing, "Syria, where at least 80,000 have been killed and over 1 million displaced (at least 370,000 of whom have fled to Turkey) since unrest began there in March of 2011."

In fact, the Atlantic Wire adds that the warning says more about the deteriorating relationship of the two countries' leaders than the relative safety -- or the lack thereof -- of travelers in the area.

Not that the situation in Turkey should be taken lightly. There is a U.S. Embassy warning to tourists about the protests, as well, alerting U.S. citizens to "be alert to the potential for violence, avoid those areas where disturbances have occurred, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is also a travel advisory for Syria, so cancel those vacation plans.

"The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Syria and strongly recommends that U.S. citizens remaining in Syria depart immediately," the website states, thanks to an armed conflict that has led to "an increased risk of kidnappings, bombings, murder, and terrorism."

For its part, Egypt dismissed the warning as "baseless," saying the area is "totally secure."