One thing I didn’t think I’d get in Egypt was Papyrus. I didn’t think I’d find anything I’d want to display, and I had always seen cast-off papyrus at second-hand stores like Goodwill. But, when you are there in the moment you get caught up…and guilted. You see, our group stopped at a “Papyrus Museum” (aka showroom) on our way to Alexandria. They showed us how Papyrus is made, and then each one of us were allowed to look around. Except in Egypt, “looking around” means you get adopted by one of the many employees eager for a sell. An Egyptian man a little bit older than me called me “Friend”. While I was trying to be polite, he offered me a bottle of water. In the back of my mind I knew that agreeing to a drink was stating I was willing to do business, but I was thirsty and took it anyway.
As we walked around, I realized my new “friend” wouldn’t let me out of the store without a purchase. I considered a smaller Cat picture (around $15 USD) while he also steered me to the larger expensive pieces. I held my ground (ha!) and just got the Cat picture, as they were writing my name in hieroglyphics for free, they offered one of the larger pieces for $45. Now I had seen one that I liked, Tut with a goddess, and with camels walking across the pyramids. As I had just ridden a camel there that morning, this spoke to me. But it was $80 USD. After some negotiation, we agreed to $60 for both pieces. He insisted I pay more because this other piece was on Dark Papyrus which is more expensive to produce.
I was starting to have buyers remorse but was too polite to say no, now that it was almost done. But then the power went out. I hopefully asked if they could still accept credit cards without power. He smiled and assured me they still could, and in minutes I was out the door with my rolled papyrus. I felt a bit hustled, but I figured, hey this is an Egyptian experience and I did have a large budget for souvenirs specifically because this was a once in a lifetime trip.
Souvenir Saturday is an every-other week series on the items that represent travel memories.
Think of it as a good-willed donation. Of course, don’t go overboard but it is great to support hard working locals that come from countries without the same opportunities we may have. I went to Vietnam when I was in college and saw children selling gum and trinkets on poster boards. It is heartbreaking. You also have a story and memory behind your souvenir. I really like the cat papyrus! I would love to travel to Egypt someday, I am researching G Adventures and saw your reddit post. Thanks for the great information! – Sarah