In Cairo, negotiating is an age-old art form. And it's actually a lot of fun once you catch the spirit of it.
I spent a few hours at the Khan al-Khalili market. It's a narrow cobblestone street full of shops where tourists can buy souvenirs, spices, even gold. It's been around for about 600 years. As you walk along, the merchants will try to physically steer you into their shops or least barrage you with sales pitches. You want some jewelry? A mini-Sphinx? Nefertiti? Or my favorite, "How can I take your money??? I'll give you good Egyptian price."
Trust me, you don't want to pay the Egyptian price. If they say 100 pounds (20 dollars), it's probably a 100 percent mark up. If you don't say anything and just walk away, the price immediately drops 20 pounds. But if it's something you want, start the bidding. So you might say, 30 pounds. 70? No, 40. 60? No, 50. Okay, deal.
I noticed a lot of the shops had the exact same trinkets. Hmmm. Now, why would that be? Turns out it's because many of these ancient Egyptian artifacts are ... GASP... made in China. One guy told me 80 percent of his stuff was made by Chinese workers. He told me it's much, much cheaper for him. He said something like, why should I work hard selling higher-priced Egyptian items when I can make easy money? "Americans buy the China things."
Well, not all Americans. I set out to find the real deal. At the next shop I visited, I picked up a little statue and took a peek at the bottom. There was a "made in China" sticker on it. Good grief.
So, I asked the guy where this thing was made. In Egypt, of course, he said. Oh really, where? We have many factories in this area. Okay, then why does it say made in China on it? He was obviously flustered and gave me some answer about the government. He said, "You understand?" No, I don't. I said, "You're lying, aren't you? After a pause, he laughed and admitted it was made in China. Then, he gave me a high five for busting him.
These people are real characters.
I finally found a merchant who swore up and down all his stuff was made in Egypt. His things did seem sturdier. They were at least made of stone and not some form of plastic that would change colors on the plane ride home.
I bought a couple souvenirs from him, but I still don't know for sure what I ended up with. I did have fun negotiating with him.
So at least, the price was right.
Scott Jagow
March 4, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Comments (3)
I first would like to mention that I make it a habit to catch the show on a daily basis. Yes, I am a fan.
However, since Egypt is in North Africa, wouldn't it be more appropriate to rename this segment to "North Africa and the Middle East @ Work"?
If you were reporting in the southern region of Canada for say, I'm sure it would be called "Canada @ Work" rather than "North America @ Work."
Thanks in advance
Posted by Sylla | March 5, 2008 5:10 AM
Sylla, I understand your point, and thank you for making it. But our series is about the Middle East, a geopolitical, cultural and economic region which contains countries from Africa, Asia and Europe. Egypt IS part of the Middle East because of its ties to the other countries in the region.
Egypt borders the Gaza Strip, for example, and must deal directly with what happens between Israel and the Gaza. Turkey is also considered by many part of the Middle East, but it’s in Europe.
If we did a series about the Midwest, I doubt Ohio would be part of it. But Ohio's neighbor Indiana would, and we would simply call it the Midwest at Work because we'd only include states bound by the economic ties of the heartland.
Egypt, of course, is geographically in Africa and has other ties to those countries. Perhaps our next project will be about Africa!
Thanks for listening,
Scott
Posted by Scott Jagow | March 5, 2008 11:46 PM
Scott & Sylla,
While Egypt is typically included in the Middle East for all of the reasons Scott mentions, the broader region is usually referred to as MENA (Middle East & North Africa).
MENA includes the Arab/Berber/etc.. North African countries, the predominately Arab Middle Eastern countries, and Turkey & Iran (which are not Arab).
As for Turkey, less than 5% of its land mass actually lies in Europe, and there are never ending debates about whether it should be considered as part of the Middle East, Central Asia, or Europe.
Hope this is helpful...
Posted by Bill | March 10, 2008 7:57 AM