Souvenir Shopping in Jordan

Shopping in Jordan is definitely a learning experience. I'm talking about shopping for traditional Jordanian or Middle Eastern items, not everyday grocery or mall shopping. To get an idea of the sorts of items that are popular Jordan souvenirs, take a look at this blog post.


We were first introduced to tourist shopping in Jordan by our tourist drivers. Whenever we go on an excursion outside of Amman, we hire a driver.  The routine is always the same. After being on the road for awhile, the driver stops at a tourist shop. These are large shops that carry all sorts of Jordan souvenirs. Many also serve light food, coffee, and snacks.  Each is sort of like a Stuckey's on steroids (do Stuckey's still exist?). There are sometimes a couple of busloads of tourists at these shops when we arrive.  But, always a salesperson attaches to us and leads us through a hard-sell exploration of all the "treasures" in the store.


At least that's what happened until we became slightly more savvy tourists. The problem with these big tourist shops is that the prices are much, much higher than they should be--sometimes as in as much as ten times what they should be. They tell you they are giving you a discount, and indeed they do take about 10% off the original price.  But, still the prices are significantly higher than they should be. One of the reasons for the high prices is that your driver gets a commission on all of your purchases in these stores.


It took us about two stops--and a couple of unfortunate purchases for which we paid too much--at these shops to figure out what was going on. We figured out that if we buy the same items at "local" stores (that is, stores where the local people shop) or at bazaars, the prices were not only far less, but we still got discounts and could negotiate to some extent for an even lower price. The local stores are smaller, so you might have to go to more shops to find the wide array of items. And, you still have to watch out, since most retailers set the price when they look you over and assess your ability to pay. But the starting price is almost always significantly less and the negotiating room is almost always significantly greater at local shops and bazaars.


At all the souvenir shops--the smaller, local ones or the giant tourist shops--you can always find a huge assortment of souvenirs: Arabian knives, ceramics, scarves, mosaics, hookahs, rugs, olive wood statuary, and much, much more. There is jewelry galore. However, you have to be careful. Some of the things are high quality, locally made, and beautiful; some are of poor quality and are not made in Jordan at all but are imported from places where they can be made and imported cheaply.


For example, I once made the mistake of buying a scarf without taking it out of the package to examine it.  The seller assured me that the scarf was handmade in Jordan and of the finest quality just like the display scarf.  But, when I got it home, I found that it wasn't like the display scarf at all.  Two of the four edges of the scarf (the two that were not showing in the package) were unfinished and fraying.  Plus, the scarf was much, much smaller than most scarves and was made of very unevenly woven polyester fabric. A tag said "made in China." Lesson learned: I now take everything out of the package to check it; even when I'm buying two identical items, both come out of the package for inspection.


How do you tell the difference between locally made things and cheap imports?  One way is to look for either a tag that says where the item was made or the remains of a tag that has been cut off.  Often, sellers will cut off the tag that says "made in China" so they can sell it as a genuine-made-in-Jordan item. I am almost positive that a scarf I bought in Egypt was not made in Egypt despite the seller's enthusiastic assurances that it was.  The tag was cut off and when I asked him why, he gave me some lame excuse and pretended not to speak enough English to explain it to me.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  It doesn't matter because I really like the scarf and would have bought it anyway--in fact, I did buy it knowing full well that it probably wasn't made in Egypt.


Another way to determine if something is really locally made is to examine the item itself for signs that it was really hand made.  For instance, I found some red Wadi Rum sand inside some pillow covers that were purportedly hand made by Bedouin women in the desert.  The sandy dirt was certainly evidence that this was true. And, the pillow covers were all unique, another sign that they were hand made.


There are also some very upscale retailers of local goods, and it is easier to be assured that the items from these stores are handmade locally.  They are also of a much higher quality. For example, the Jordan River Foundation, which is chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania, sells beautiful tapestries, hand-woven rugs, and other locally made items.  The mission of the JRF is to "empower society, especially women and children, and in turn, improve the quality of life to secure a better future for all Jordanians." Wild Jordan, the business unit of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, operates stores that provide opportunities for local people to make and sell products using local resources and skills. Some of the items available at Wild Jordan stores include jewelry, olive oil and olive oil products (such as soaps), painted ostrich eggs (a traditional Jordanian art and a very popular, but expensive, item in souvenir shops), and organic jams and fruits. And, we must not forget Silsal, and other artist-owned galleries.  Of course, one pays more at these places, but the quality of the items is outstanding and you can be sure that the things you buy were made by Jordanian artists. 

More on [NOT] Walking in Amman

The Jordan Times reports here on the ongoing issue of poor pedestrian conditions in Amman.  As I have mentioned previously in this blog, Amman is not a "walking city." Sidewalks, when they do exist, are often uneven, in disrepair, and covered with impediments, such as trees. People just don't walk much in Amman, and those who do often end up walking in the street, subjecting themselves to the constant annoyance of being honked at by passing cars.

According to the Jordan Times article, Jordan ranks second in the top five most "unwalkable" cities in the world. The article highlights the serious dangers of walking in Amman, such as being hit by a passing car or by falling debris from construction sites or the upper floors of buildings. The article suggests that the problem has many cuases, including a lack of enforcement of traffic laws regarding the safety of pedestrians, placing responsibility for sidewalk construction and maintenance with property owners rather than with the government, and urban expansion that has emphasized more room for automobile traffic and paid little attention to making space for pedestrians.

Oddly, even merchants in some areas of Amman resent pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk in front of their businesses; they view the sidewalks as private property and passersby as trespassers. Needless to say, there aren't a lot of "window shoppers" in Amman. The shopping culture here is completely different from the American shopping culture of walking along a shop-lined street, deciding whether to enter a shop based on what the shopkeeper displays in the window or near the front of the store.  Often, when my family and I go to an area with a lot of shops, we find ourselves to be the only pedestrians walking along the sidewalk (or in the street).

According to the Jordan Times article, Jordan has spent 15 million JDs (over $20 million) on sidewalk repair and construction in the last four years. Thousands of trees have been removed in order to make the sidewalks more passable. Yet, many people remain skeptical about whether there will be any significant progress in making Amman a more pedestrian-friendly city anytime soon.  There is simply too much working against the pedestrian: culture, history, and other economic priorities and challenges.

Cairo Day 3: Shopping at Khan el-Khalili Market

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.