Being a Tourist in Egypt

The hassles of being a tourist in Egypt are many. It all starts with the differential pricing for entry into the famous monuments and the other tourist spots. As foreigners, even as resident expats, we pay nearly quadruple the amount that the locals pay as entrance fees. Maybe, this is justified, given the argument that Egypt being a poor country, most of the locals would be unable to visit these monuments, if they had to pay the higher entrance fees. However, the harassment by the touts at the tourist sites, harassment by shop owners and stall owners is unprecedented and legendary. And you need to be made of sterner stuff to withstand this hassle, without getting your blood pressure up.

Particularly bad are the touts that surround you and your car as soon as you come within sight of the Giza pyramids. If nothing else works, they just jump on the bonnet of your car to stake their claim on you…as their client! If this is not enough to make you feel like turning tail and running away, their persistent demands to purchase souvenirs, to get onto a camel or a horse surely cannot be borne by the faint hearted.

Added to all this, if you happen to be a light-skinned, blue-eyed, blond tourist, then your woes are doubled. When my friend who fitted the above description was visiting me in Cairo, she was met with requests for touching her hair, posing with her for pictures, and also some audacious marriage proposals. All the prices were quoted in dollars or euros-a LE 5 item will be quoted as USD 5 or Euro 5.

The Khan-el-Khalili vendors welcomed you with the comment “You want help in spending your money?” As if we are totally daft and have no clue as to what to do with our money. But the most original line came from this vendor. My friend requested a shop owner to help choose good pieces as gifts to take back home. She said ”you must help me….you know what will be a pretty piece”. The shopkeeper said “you are pretty!” A potential candidate for writing the dialogues for the next Bollywood blockbuster!

If you are eating at a road side eatery at the “Khan”, you will have to ward off people selling everything from scarves to the evil eye. Even sitting at the historic Fishawi café is fraught with vendors offering you a wallet at every sip of your shay bil “na’na (mint tea) and every puff of your sheesha! A firm “La Shukran” (no, thank you) is effective in most cases, except the most persistent.

However, despite all the hassle, the memories that you carry back with you are that of the endearing warmth of the people here, the majesty and beauty of the Islamic, Pharonic and the Coptic monuments. And of course, you must have heard of the saying that once you have drunk from the Nile, you will return again to Cairo.

IDEAS FOR GIFTS FROM EGYPT

Summer is upon us and most of us are planning a vacation back home. "What to take back as gifts for family and friends" is a question that I have seen friends grapple with. I have also wrested with this question when friends ask for suggestions and accompanied them on “gift-hunting” trips. The usual suspects like papyrus, tutankhamun masks, statue of Nefertiti, pyramids etc from the “Khan” have been “done to death”, but they still are popular. Here are a few pointers for those interested to gift the “unusual” from Egypt

For something unique and funky, why not gift a CD of Wust El Balad’s first music album? A book on Egyptology would make the perfect gift for a friend who has always dreamt of visiting the land of Pharoahs. The AUC bookstore has a wide selection of books on Egypt. Introduce the voracious reader in your family to Naguib Mahfouz, a highly acclaimed Egyptian writer and a Nobel laureate for literature. For the homemaker in your family or friend circle, write down some Egyptian recipes like karkade, hummus, fuul, koshari, taa’miya (falafel), baba ghanoug etc-this wins hands down as a gift with a personal touch.

A crystal piece from the Asfour Crystal Factory, a place in the suburb of Shubra is meant for the "discerning" and should be bought only when “size” of the gift is not a consideration. Whatever be your budget, you are sure to find something here-the smaller pieces being budget-friendly as well as easy to carry.

Egyptian cotton is very famous. You could consider gifting bed sheets made from the finest cotton, found at the Salon Au Vert in downtown.. Mobaco has a fine range of men’s shirts and t-shirts and ladies’ tops and some of the designs are really good.

At Oriental Weavers, you can buy tapestries (wall hangings) from LE 80 onwards. Mickey Mouse for the children, Tutankhamun for the history buff –you can find something for everyone here. For an exclusive gift head to Wissa Wassef (see blog entry dated March 12, 2008) – the tapestries would enhance any wall and the pottery is functional and unique too.

The various "ittar" fragrances filled in attractive and colourful bottles make a thoughtful gift. Choose a lovely silver pendant, some colourful beads to go with it and have them strung to form a unique neckpiece for the fashionable among your friends and family.

With a little bit of effort and imagination, you can take back the “perfect gift” from Egypt.

WATERMELON MARKET IN CAIRO

Only twice during our seven months stay in Cairo, have we attempted to buy and eat watermelon, my favorite fruit and both the attempts have ended in disaster! And to top it all, the atempts were costly too!

During the first week of our stay in Cairo, we purchased a watermelon for LE 40 and had to throw it away as it had gone stale! The second time we managed to get a watermelon for LE 25. But since we would be travelling over the next two days, we thought we were being smart by putting the watermelon in the freezer for the duration-and that was the end of it!

As they say, “third time lucky” and that is exactly what happened to us! Last week, we visited the wholesale market for watermelons in Cairo at Sahil Izhara (just before the turn for getting onto the Maadi-6th October Ring Road when coming in from the Corniche). This is the season for the watermelons and seeing mounds of fruit piled high is a visual feast!

First we walked the entire length of the market-at one place the fruit was being packed for export purposes; at yet another stall, the seller was using a drum and singing out to attract customers. Though most of the market had watermelons on display, at one of the stalls we saw peaches and onions too.

Now that we had established our credentials as “serious” buyers, a man approached us saying that he had the best watermelons available for LE20. When we said the price was too high, he said that he had some available for LE 8, though they might not be as sweet. We told him that we wanted something that was sweet but at a lower price. At this point, he invited us into his stall and showed us the watermelons and told us that he could really not go below LE 20 as the fruits were the best and the “stall owner” would not allow it. We offered LE 15-only to be met by a firm shake of the head.

Our driver now stepped in-he took out his cigarette pack and offered one to the vendor before lighting his own. He informed him that though we were “agnabis” (foreigners), we stayed in Cairo and if he sold us the watermelons at a good price and they turned out to be sweet, then he would get regular business from us and the other families working in the same company as my husband. This seemed to work and the vendor agreed to sell us four watermelons at LE 15 each.

Then it was time for the “specialist” to come in and choose the fruit for us-he hit the watermelons a couple of times and depending on the sound that followed, decided whether it was "good" or "not good enough". Our driver now insisted that the vendor cut one watermelon right there so that we could ascertain that it was indeed sweet. Out of nowhere a group of men materialized as if to watch a show and even "ohhed" and "ahhed" over the colour of the watermelon when it was cut. A small boy claiming to be the son of the "stall owner" wanted us to take the fruit chosen by him and went ahead and replaced one of them in the pile! He even had the audacity to ask for a photograph with me alone! And I thought he was a baby!

I am happy to report that the watermelons were indeed very sweet – it was definitely a “fruitful” visit.

SOUQ-AL-GOMA'A

I visited the Souq-al-Goma’a (Friday market) this Friday -the equivalent of “Chor Bazaar” in Bombay,India. “Chor”, which literally means a “robber” best characterizes the “Chor Bazaar” since it is a place where the stolen items find a ready market. The Souq-al-Goma’a has a similar reputation. In fact, when my driver informed our bawaab that he would be taking us to the souq-al-goma’a the following day, he wanted to accompany us to find his bicycle which had been stolen some days back! But of course, even if he was lucky enough to actually find his bicycle there, he would have to buy it back!

The Souq-al-Goma’a sprawls for miles under the Al-Tonssy flyover-anything and everything can be found here. It is quite intimidating to walk through this market; definitely a predominantly male domain. Our driver had accompanied hubby and me into the market and he kept warning us to keep a tight hold on our wallets and mobiles. In fact, when I wanted to take some snaps, our driver advised us to click pictures from the safety of the bridge. Though we did not linger long, it was nevertheless a fascinating experience-to see everything form a small pin to mobiles, plastic ware, clothes etc sold here. Sometimes, we even came across some broken and old items and I wondered if anyone actually buys them! Apparently, the right time to visit the market is early in the morning-the vendors actually start laying out their wares the evening before and the buyers start pouring in from early morning.

Check out some of the pics!