Bizarre Bazaars

Time for me to check in once again. WiFi connection on the boat was weak and not very consistent. I also found very little spare time. We are kept very busy visiting one site after another with little down time other than to eat. So, here I’m typing at 11:30 pm after a long day of traveling and excursions. The internet in the hotels are expensive but I have found in Egypt the restrooms and internet are similar. The more you pay the better they are to use.

On Wednesday, January 12th we visited the Edfu after sailing down the Nile from Luxor.  We stopped at the Temple of Horus (the falcon god) built in 230 BC by Ptolemy III. 

Horus in falcon form

In the evening we visited a Greco-Roman temple dedicated to Haroeris (the sun god) and Sobek (the crocodile god). The temple built in the 3rd century BC, stands at the bend of the NIle where sacred crocodiles would bask in the sun on the Nile riverbank. Visiting ancient Egyptian temples at night is a wondrous experience. Seeing these ancient masterpieces of stone craftsmanship lit and glowing is spectacular.

 Sobek

Afterward we visited the shopping bazaar/souvenir stands. The Egyptian souvenir vendors are an experience all in themselves. Never have I been aggressively sought out as a customer. VERY serious bizznacks here! Plus, they are hagglers. It takes a bit getting used to, like running through a gauntlet of aggressive bees while covered in honey and pollen. I ask for a price, get a ridiculous price...refuse their offer & walk away....only to be followed and offered a better price and the bargaining dance starts all over. We finally settle on a price, with me probably still overpaying. 

Here’s a typical souvenir dance.

ME...(Look at a vendors stuff for a milli-second but continue to walk.)

VENDOR...Great bargain lady...$10 (for a tiny snow globe w/pyramid in it)You American? Welcome to Alaska...After while crocodile

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...Ok $8 for you, cause you have pretty eyes.

ME...My eyes are prettier than that...no thanks

VENDOR...but it’s glass snowglobe, no plastic..$6 dollars

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...What you pay? 

ME...No thanks

VENDOR...Ok $4 

ME...silence

VENDOR...Ok $2

ME...hands him $2 & take snow globe w/pyramid

VENDOR...shoukran (thank you) 

My husband has a different approach...he pays what they ask, and makes the vendor ecstatic and me bewildered. You can even negotiate in souvenir stores/snack/coffee stores in the airport.


Melissa  Jan.15  8:45 am