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How to Shop in Cairo 99
have fine or charming pieces, suited to pockets of varying
depths, especially in the direction of old brass-ware, em-
broideries and lace, enamels and pottery. The trouble is
that without interminable bargaining you will be outrageously
swindled. Few of these traders have fixed prices like
Andalaft and Cohen, and nearly all of them fix their prices,
not according to the value of the article, but according to the
value of the purchaser. They gauge how rich or otherwise he
is, how shrewd or foolish, how eager or unwilling, and the price
moves accordingly. With most of them you have the feeling
all the time that you are dealing with a dirty, chuckling
Oriental spider.
When you come upon genuine Persians they are not so
bad. They are dignified, and often, like the Turk, have fixed
prices ; but they have one price fixed for the tourist and
another for the native, so if you are wise you do not buy from
them at all, since they are certain to be asking you far above
the value of the article, and will not budge from their price.
Amber is the speciality of the Turks ; lacquered boxes and
turquoises are the specialities of the Persians. You often
see fine pieces of amber among the beads and pipe-mouth-
pieces : but they are not comparable in beauty with the
old amber, which has gone opaque and golden, or clear
and sherry-coloured, to be found in the necklaces of odd
beads,
Sudan.
which descend from generation to generation in the
The number of Persians in the bazars seemed to me really
extraordinary. Mr. Andalaft told me that it was not hard
to explain. " Persia," he said, " is a very difficult country
to get to for tourists, so the Persians have to look about for
a market outside of their own country, where the duties are
low, and there is a good Government like the English, that
does not allow people to have their money taken away from
them, and where many tourists come.
market of Persia."
Egypt is the tourist's
Here was another
Occupation.
testimony to the value of the British
One of the great bargainings in the bazars at Cairo is