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Shopping in Cairo |
Shopping can be great fun in Cairo, whether for an everyday souvenir
or for something a little more valuable. Painted papyrus scrolls,
often embellished with hieroglyphics, are popular and perhaps a little
more tasteful than stuffed camels or models of the pyramids. Egypt
may be rich in antiquities, but it is not rich enough to supply the
thousands of vendors who will sidle up to visitors offering a furtive
glimpse of a 'genuine antique'. In any case, it is illegal to export
genuine antiquities without a licence.
Among the items that do make attractive legal souvenirs are jewellery,
perfume, leather goods, brass and copper items, and herbs and spices.
Almost anything can be found in the city's main market, the Khan al-Khalili
in Islamic Cairo. While this is on every tour itinerary and there
will be hundreds of shopkeepers and touts to deal with on arrival,
it is a vast place and most visitors do not venture into its interior,
where the local people do their own shopping. Silks, jewellery, spices
and hand-made gellibayas (long robes) make good purchases, as do perfumes
from the Perfume Bazaar area. Many French perfume houses source their
supplies from Egypt, and in the bazaar pure essential oils are for
sale.
The Street of the Coppersmiths (An-Nahassin) is naturally the place
to go to find a good choice of brass and copperware. Large engraved
brass trays are popular and can be bought complete with a wooden stand
to turn them into a coffee table. More easily transported are cups,
bowls, plates and ornamental trays.
Gold and silver are widely available and not expensive, provided you
bargain the price down a little (see below). However, local taste
tends towards the gaudy or the mock-ancient, incorporating hieroglyphs,
pharoah's heads and scarab beetles, so it may be a hunt to find something
more unusual. In addition to the Khan al-Khalili, the jewellery shops
on Sharia Abdel Khalek Sarwat and on Sharia al-Muizz li-Din Allah
are good bets. This latter is in the Souq as-Sagha, or Goldsmith's
Bazaar.
Normal opening hours for shops are Monday to Saturday from about 0900
to 2000 but in summer they will close between roughly 1230 and 1600.
Tourist shops often stay open later.
Haggling is a way of life, especially in the bazaars, and visitors
should not be afraid to try. Prices are inflated for visitors anyway
but remember that it is meant to be fun – not a fight to the
death. If the final price is between half and two-thirds of the original
asking price, then both parties should be happy.
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