Tourism: For Americans in Egypt, haggling is a must

The Daily Collegian (Greg Collins)

Because merchants try to sell their products to foreigners at outrageously high prices by Egyptian standards, tourists will be forced inevitably to suggest a lower figure, succumb to the original price, or not buy the product at all.

I encountered this situation when American University in Cairo students traveled to the pyramids of Giza and Saqqara, the world-famous mausoleums honoring pharaohs that were built thousands of years ago. These highly-frequented tourist destinations are an oasis for Egyptian merchants, camel drivers and craftsmen to hound Americans and Europeans for cash, cash and more cash by attempting to sell what they claim are "authentic" Egyptian artifacts. . . .

A more unfortunate feature of this bartering is the large amount of children who also act as merchants at the pyramids. Even though you want to walk through the sites unbothered, they will accost you, trying to sell postcards, headscarves and water. From an American's perspective, they are rude and disrespectful, similar to the adult merchants at tourist sites and on the streets of Cairo.

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