The pedlars of Cairo

PLANNING to visit historical Egypt? Then, expect the unexpected. Truly, no amount of tourist and travel literature can prepare you for that first-time visit. 

The biggest shock though is not the climate, or dress, or religious custom, or food. It is the fast-paced wit of the ubiquitous Egyptian salesmen who think on their feet and whose tongues, though smoother than virgin olive oil, drive fear into some of the most seasoned bargainers.

In the first few days of the annual meeting of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists, delegates literally fled to the refuge of their hotels where they felt safe from the hustlers outside.

One day, as I waited to cross a highway to go to the Ramses Hilton, an Egyptian man asked me the time in Arabic. Not knowing how to answer, I showed him my watch and that was his cue.

“You don’t speak Arabic?” he asked in English.

“No.”

Then the formalities started. Where are you from? Why are you here? When are you leaving? What’s your name?

“Welcome to Egypt,”  he said after the formalities. “It’s dangerous to cross here; let me show you where to cross,” he said even though there were scores of people crossing there.

“I work here,” he said as we passed the Intercontinental Hotel.

“I’m next door – at the Helnan Shepherd.”

“Then why are you going to the Ramses Hilton?”

“To go to the shopping mall.”

“Oh, that closed at 4 p.m.”

It was a lie, I later discovered.

“That mall is very expensive. Let me show you where the Egyptians shop.”

And I was a grateful lamb being led to the slaughter. Through a couple of side roads we arrived at a papyrus shop where he proudly announced: “I am a watercolour artist and this shop is owned by my brother.”

“But I thought you worked at the Intercontinental Hotel?”

“Yes, at night only.”

The sales pitch started. Forty minutes and several glasses of Tetley Tea later, I wrested myself away, promising to return before 7:30 p.m. His “only sister” was getting married the following day and the shop would be closed for ten days. I did not return by 7:30 p.m.; but the next morning, I discovered his sister had a change of marriage plans and his prices were eight times higher than normal. 

Three days later, when another Egyptian asked me the time at the traffic lights, I quickly dismissed him.

One other thing we learnt was that Egyptian mothers are very resourceful.

“Are these perfume bottles made in Egypt?”

“Yes, my mother made them last night,” they answered in Arab-tainted English.

“Are these T-shirts from Egypt?”

“Yes, my mother made them last night.”

“Where do you get your perfume extracts?”

“My father has a flower farm 125 miles south of Cairo and he learnt to extract perfume in Paris,” seven different perfume pedlars said.

Shopping ended up to be reasonable.

Walking into Egypt is like walking into the pages of history. The walls of its ancient buildings hold the secrets of a bygone era; but many are crumbling. This is of utmost concern and was the central theme of this year’s annual meeting of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists. In old Jerusalem, where the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is keeping Palestinians at bay, people squat in these historic buildings and their families multiply. They make additions to the buildings, disfiguring the architecture and Egyptian history. Efforts are on to rectify the problem. In the Islamic section of old Cairo, work is under way to restore some of the more significant heritage sights.

Through the ages various religions ruled and it is not unusual to find Christian churches, Islamic mosques, and Jewish synagogues within a stone’s throw of each other. There is the famous St. Sergius Church, in the basement of which, Joseph and Mary hid the baby Jesus after fleeing across the Egyptian border from Bethlehem to Cairo after King Herod put out a contract on the Christ child. A short walk along a narrow path leads to Ben Ezra Synagogue where a monument marks the location where baby Moses was discovered by an Egyptian princess among the bulrushes when the River Nile flowed in this area several centuries ago.

The chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Development Corporation told visiting journalists the country was hosting five million visitors per year and expected to welcome the 31 millionth tourist next year. Heritage sights, including the pyramids and Sphinx, are being restored. Tourism and antiquities police, armed to the teeth, guard all areas frequented by foreigners, including hotels, to protect them against Islamic militants who target the lucrative tourism industry in efforts to topple President Hosni Mubarak’s secular government and replace it with strict Muslim rule. The sight of policemen armed with self-loading, rapid fire, automatic rifles in tourist districts, and hotels with metal detectors at the doors drew more stares of curiosity than of fright. In old Cairo there were signs that fundamentalist Islam was returning. The reason? Religious leaders feel only religion can return a value system to society which is seeing moral decay.

Egypt is 90 per cent desert, and the majority of its 51 million people are concentrated along the banks of the River Nile which supplies water to nine African countries. Each country has a quota which cannot be exceeded without negotiations.

The winters are mild and cool while the summers are like a furnace. And, maximum rainfall is about nine inches per year. The official language is Arabic, though many people speak English, and  92 per cent of the population is Islamic. The country has been modernised with women holding many key positions, dressing in normal Western outfits, whether married or not, and even smoking cigarettes in public! At the environmental conference, 85 per cent of the presenters were women who either held the chief executive position in their agencies or were university professors in the wider Arab republic.

The Arab state is an excellent blend of ancient and modern. As a very popular tourist destination, airfares are very cheap – as low as US$550 (BDS$1 100) from New York or US$1 250 (BDS$2 500) from Barbados – and five star hotels with specialty restaurants as low as US$110 (BDS$220) per night. Cairo is an experience one would not easily forget.