With the June 30th protests coming up tomorrow, our professor took us to the bazaar today for some shopping before the excitement begins. We visited Khan al-Khalili, which is the largest and most popular bazaar in Cairo. I didn't see any other shoppers there besides our group, which probably meant that tourists are staying away from downtown Cairo right now. Poor shopkeepers... and poor us, since everyone was determined to charge extra for everything!
The bazaar was made up of winding alleys filled with shops, bored-looking shopkeepers sitting out front waiting for customers to come by. As soon as we approached, their eyes lit up and they called out to us about all of the items that we just had to get that were exactly what we were looking for! All I knew was that I wanted some scarves to give as presents, so I wandered in and out of shops aimlessly for a bit, probably disappointing the many store owners that kept trying to give me prices for everything I looked at. Some of the shopkeepers were friendly, others aggressive, and many more aggressively friendly. I actually had one shopkeeper pull me into his store to show me scarves, so I was glad that I'd dragged my friend Rusty into the store as well... the young man started demonstrating all the different ways I could wear his beautiful scarf, and as soon as he "accidentally" groped me I hurried out of the store and told him I didn't want the scarf. I don't want to know what would have happened if I hadn't had another guy with me at the time - thanks, Rusty!
That one incident aside, I had some great conversations with some of the shopkeepers and many of them were thrilled that I made an effort to speak/bargain with them in Arabic. My group had our professor help us negotiate (since she was always able to talk her way into the most reasonable prices using her rapid Egyptian Arabic), but I was able to successfully bargain on my own a couple of times and got a great deal on a few gorgeous scarves.
We stopped shopping a little bit too soon for my liking (although it was probably a good thing, since I hadn't planned well and didn't bring enough Egyptian pounds with me to buy too many items) and went to Al-Fishawy Café for tea and coffee (as well as hookah for some of my classmates). It was nice to sit and relax for a bit, especially since the tea was delicious! A couple of young boys came up to us and tried to get us to buy hairpins, so Angelica and I bought a couple. We probably overpaid, since the youngest boy was so happy that he gave us a handmade bracelet in addition to the hairpins for free. Honestly, I didn't mind overpaying - it was only $3 to me, but it was a few meals for him.
While heading back from the bazaar, our taxis drove through Tahrir Square and I was able to get a glimpse at the protest preparations for tomorrow. Jonny and I joked that it was just like Occupy - and in a way, it was.
I'm excited to see what happens tomorrow! We're all staying firmly on Zamalek, where we'll be safe, but I know that we'll all be monitoring the news and waiting to see what takes place in the square. I'm praying everything remains safe and peaceful!
The bazaar was made up of winding alleys filled with shops, bored-looking shopkeepers sitting out front waiting for customers to come by. As soon as we approached, their eyes lit up and they called out to us about all of the items that we just had to get that were exactly what we were looking for! All I knew was that I wanted some scarves to give as presents, so I wandered in and out of shops aimlessly for a bit, probably disappointing the many store owners that kept trying to give me prices for everything I looked at. Some of the shopkeepers were friendly, others aggressive, and many more aggressively friendly. I actually had one shopkeeper pull me into his store to show me scarves, so I was glad that I'd dragged my friend Rusty into the store as well... the young man started demonstrating all the different ways I could wear his beautiful scarf, and as soon as he "accidentally" groped me I hurried out of the store and told him I didn't want the scarf. I don't want to know what would have happened if I hadn't had another guy with me at the time - thanks, Rusty!
That one incident aside, I had some great conversations with some of the shopkeepers and many of them were thrilled that I made an effort to speak/bargain with them in Arabic. My group had our professor help us negotiate (since she was always able to talk her way into the most reasonable prices using her rapid Egyptian Arabic), but I was able to successfully bargain on my own a couple of times and got a great deal on a few gorgeous scarves.
We stopped shopping a little bit too soon for my liking (although it was probably a good thing, since I hadn't planned well and didn't bring enough Egyptian pounds with me to buy too many items) and went to Al-Fishawy Café for tea and coffee (as well as hookah for some of my classmates). It was nice to sit and relax for a bit, especially since the tea was delicious! A couple of young boys came up to us and tried to get us to buy hairpins, so Angelica and I bought a couple. We probably overpaid, since the youngest boy was so happy that he gave us a handmade bracelet in addition to the hairpins for free. Honestly, I didn't mind overpaying - it was only $3 to me, but it was a few meals for him.
While heading back from the bazaar, our taxis drove through Tahrir Square and I was able to get a glimpse at the protest preparations for tomorrow. Jonny and I joked that it was just like Occupy - and in a way, it was.
I'm excited to see what happens tomorrow! We're all staying firmly on Zamalek, where we'll be safe, but I know that we'll all be monitoring the news and waiting to see what takes place in the square. I'm praying everything remains safe and peaceful!
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