Khan el-Khalili

8-18-2008

Birthday day. After a fun evening/ early morning partying, my dad and I hit Khan el-Khalili – the largest market for shopping in Cairo. I’ll be visiting this area often, although always with an Arabic speaker! I let my dad wheel and deal for most of the time. Khan el-Khalili is full of merchants selling mostly gift items. Any belly dance or musical instrument on the street seemed to be low quality. We did however find some jewels. Our first purchase was from a man who collected photos of Egypt and Egyptian culture. I picked up about 6 5x7’s of my favorite Egyptian raqs stars. The merchant was genuine and friendly, and loved to tell us the stories behind each of the photos. You could tell who was just trying to get you into their shop, and who was a little more genuine. Our next stop was what made my mouth water. We found a Bedouin jewelry shop – there were multiple pieces of Egyptian, Yemeni, Afghani, Rajisthani, and Moroccan items. Each piece is priced by how much silver is in the metallic blend of the bits that make up the jewelry. The first pice I go for was an Egyptian necklace priced at LE 1480 (~$300)…go figure!

Our last stop was at a very nice caftan shop. We had been beckoned into many, but none were as nice or ornate as these. I must have spent and hour trying on different caftans and finally came down to two that I liked. After which the bargaining began – what an art that was.
1. Salesman throws a number, my dad counter offers.
2. I try on more caftans.
3. Salesman offers again, my dad counter offers.
4. I see another one to try.
5. Salesman then offers some coffee for my dad, and Pepsi for me.
6. He goes to get both.
7. I try more caftans.
8. My dad sees a pale yellow caftan for my mom, the lady in the shop goes to take it down to see if it will fit my mom.
9. New round of negotiations
10. By this point, I voice that I don’t want the burgundy one - this worries the salesman.
11. My dad says not to worry, and I say we shouldn’t get mama one because she won’t wear it.
12. Salesman throws a number and breaks out the calculator, my dad counter offers.
13. Salesman gawkes and we start to leave the store (Haha! The day is won!)
14. Salesman beckons us back in, okay he says.
15. My dad thanks him for his business.

The original offer was LE1900 for two, we left with three caftans for LE750. Whoo hoo!