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Cairo is a shopping mecca. Everywhere you go, there are things to buy or, at least, reasons to shell out more money to more people.
We had done a little bit of shopping here and there on our first two days. In particular, after we visited the pyramids, our guide took us to a perfume factory, a papyrus shop, and a cotton shop. In the perfume shop, we got to sample all sorts of Egyptian fragrances. I'm not that big on perfume (when the salesperson asked me what scent I wear, I had to say ". . . uh . . . soap"), but it was fun to hear about how perfume is made and smell the pure oil scents. The papyrus shop was the most interesting of the three. There, we were treated to a demonstration of how papyrus is made and told how to distinguish faux papyrus (made from banana leaves) from real papyrus (real papyrus has cross-hatching, whereas on banana paper, the lines go all one way). The cotton shop had all sorts of things made from Egyptian cotton, from clothes to bed and table linens. At each of these shops, we fulfilled our touristic obligation to buy a few items.
But the third day was dedicated to serious shopping at the famous Khan el-Khalili Market. This is perhaps the oldest and most famous bazaar in the Middle East. It started in 1382 and is in the Islamic district of Cairo. Khan el-Khalili draws both tourists and locals. It is a maze of narrow, crowded, alley-like streets lined with shops. There are a few coffeehouses where tired shoppers can rest and have a drink, and street vendors sell food.
We were warned: "Prices are high; quality is low." Moreover, Khan el-Khalili is known for being a place where buyers and sellers vigorously negotiate prices. Keeping these things in mind, we ventured into the market.
It was kind of like being at a really intense carnival where the carnival workers are all calling to you trying to get you to waste your money on their game. We were bombarded with great offers, like "Egyptian scarves, only 5 pounds." (By the way, 5 Egyptian pounds is equal to about $1 US). But, when we actually tried to buy anything, it was significantly more than 5 pounds. We paid more than we should have for some things, but got reasonable deals on other things. For example, we ended up paying 100 pounds (about $20) for a poorly-made Egyptian flag, but I got a great bag for 50 pounds (about $10).
Where we really got ripped off was in a cotton clothing shop. We had a great time in the shop, but we really let things get away from us and made a few critical errors that, in the end, cost us. Here's what happened: I wanted to get an Egyptian shirt. I had been regretting not buying one at the cotton shop we visited the day before, and so when I saw one hanging in a store, I decided to go in and take a look. That was my first mistake.
I tried on a couple of shirts and decided I wanted the spiffy green one that had attracted my attention to begin with. So, I asked the salesperson "how much for this shirt." He didn't answer me. Instead, he said, "um . . . well . . . let's make sure you don't want anything else because the price will be better for two items." So, I said "OK," and turned to my family and asked "anyone else want anything?" That was my second mistake.
Now, he set out to outfit our whole family in Egyptian clothing . . .
We actually had a great time in this store, and were there for quite a long time. We were served tea with fresh mint, and it was perhaps the best tea I've ever had. When all was said and done, we had selected six items to purchase.
"How much?" I asked. This time he told me. He suggested a price of . . . get this . . . 2500 pounds. That's over 450 US dollars! And, the stuff was not that great. The original shirt I wanted to buy was made of a thin cotton fabric--about the weight of doctor scrubs--and the seams and edges were not well finished. I should have just said "forget it" right then and walked out. But, I didn't. That was my third mistake.
Then, the negotiation began. Paul and I were trying to negotiate with the salesperson and the owner. That was our fourth mistake: too many people involved in the negotiation.
It quickly became apparent that trying to buy multiple items (mistake number 2 above) was the biggest mistake because this gave them two grounds upon which to negotiate. In other words, when I went down in price, they suggested removing items, so that I was still, at every price point, paying too much for the items still on the table. Add to this the general difficulty of trying to do money conversions from Egyptian pounds to Jordanian dinars to U.S. dollars and back again. In the end, we paid 500 pounds (about $100) for two items. A complete rip off!!
Oh well, we had a good time and got the full Khan el-Khalili experience!
Morals of the story: (1) buy one thing at a time; (2) know how much you are willing to spend on that one item and be ready to walk out of the store if they won't take that amount; (3) when you mess up and pay too much, chalk it up to having a good time and get over it! By following #1 and #2, I got my awesome bag for about $10; by violating #1 and #2, I got to learn #3 the hard way.
After the clothing store experience, we were ready for a break at the famous El Fishawy coffeeshop. This popular coffee shop has been in business for over 200 years and has never been closed one day. It is located right in the alley of the souq, so shoppers continue to walk through as you sit and enjoy your drink (no food served here). Vendors walk through trying to sell everything from fake Rolex watches to single tissues. We had numerous offers to brush off our shoes, and even one offer to comb off our shoes.
