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loo Oriental Cairo
over precious stones, above all, turquoises, though there is a
determined effort to make people buy peridots, which are a
monopoly taken over from the Khedive, and various cheap
stones, such as rose-crystals, chrysoprases, and poor amethysts.
A good deal of this trade is in the hands of Persians and
what Belsize called " our Indian fellow-subjects."
The Indians are the easier to bargain with ; they know
the trading of the West as well as the East, and are aware
of the value of a quick turnover. But they are by way of
having fixed prices. Ladies get over this difficulty if the
dealers have named a price far above what it would pay
them handsomely to take, by picking out something of
sufficient value, and saying that they will buy the first article
if they receive the second article as baksJiish. But this is
of no use if you have a dragoman or guide with you to
see the trader's weakness and get his bakshish. That word
bakshish is unusually potent in the bazars. It covers the
heavy commission demanded by any native who is taking
you about, on every article which you purchase. He demands
this as his reward for bringing you to the shop. If the
merchant does not give it, the guide does all he can to
prevent any foreigners, whom he may be accompanying in
the future, from going into that shop. Knowing the prejudices
of the English, he says that the man who keeps the shop
has many imitations among his goods, and that he is a
liar. This last is a beautiful trick, for of course the guide
himself is a liar. He glories in it. He is telling a lie over
this very thing, and he exults in deceiving you.
And now as to the quality of turquoises—the best, the
hard, well-polished, deep blue stones, which have no flaw and
are of a beautiful, regular shape, you can buy only in the
jeweller's shops, of which there are some in the bazar as
well as near the big hotels. But there are many fascinating
stones of lower grades which the Indians and Persians sell.
To begin with, there are large stones not so hard, not quite
free from flaws, not so well polished, not of the most esteemed
turquoise blue, which are even more beautiful than the best
turquoi.ses. They are of a colour which is never sold in