Opening hours of shops in Egypt

It cannot be said that the shops of Egypt work on any specific hours. As a rule, they are open from 09:00 to 20:00. In winter, the lunch break lasts from 12:00 to 14:00, in summer it lasts from 14:00 to 16:00. In Cairo and Alexandria, many shops are open without interruption. Supermarkets are usually open until late.

Many shops, especially tourist-oriented ones, close only at 21:00 or 22:00. Weekends in Egypt: Friday and Sunday. During Ramadan, merchants operate on a different schedule: shops open later and close earlier, and some are generally closed during the day and work at night.
Sales in stores in Egypt

Sales in Egypt are held in February and August. The price during these months is reduced by 25-50%.

What and where to buy in stores in Egypt

Shopping in Egypt is not concentrated in shopping centers and boutiques, as in Milan or Paris, but in real oriental markets, where rudeness and simplicity are combined with the taste of real trade. From purchases, tourists most often bring home beautiful trinkets and goodies, less often something worthwhile, such as clothes made from natural fabrics or cotton pastel linen. Clothing stores in Egypt are not very pleasing to fashionistas.

It will not be difficult to find large shops and supermarkets, they successfully capture the central streets and prestigious areas, but you will have to look for a good shop. Our advice: go shopping to the bazaar. In the local shops and stalls you will find everything you need and at ridiculous prices. In big cities, there are small shops with history that you can also look into.
Prices in Egyptian stores

Prices in Egyptian stores сами по себе невысокие, но чтобы не платить втридорога, чаще всего приходиться торговаться. If it doesn’t work out, don’t worry, take a walk along the market streets and you will definitely find a shop with a friendlier Egyptian. Don’t buy anything for a price you think is too high.

Features of shops in Egypt

In most stores, you will be able to exchange the purchase, but it is simply impossible to return the money back. If you buy multiple items, like perfume bottles, you can get a discount or a free bottle.

While you are making your choice, the shop owner may offer you a cup of tea. You don’t have to pay for the food, it’s a hospitable gesture. IN craving to sell you another trinket, merchants can be extremely persistent. If you get tired of the persecution, speak in an uncommon language or read a passage from your favorite avant-garde poet. Not knowing what to do with you, the unfortunate Egyptian will go home.

How to bargain in Egypt

Tell yourself in advance what you want to buy. Egyptian merchants know their business well, so their ability to sell you crocodile slippers should not be overestimated.

It is better to go to the market in your free time. Haste betrays you as an inexperienced tourist who will agree to any price, while you need to play the role of an Egyptian who “ate a dog” in trade.

Before going to the market, it does not hurt to first ask the price near the shop windows, where fixed prices are set. IN принципе, здесь же можно и остановится, если нет желания или времени посещать базар.

Arriving at the market, walk along the counters for a long time, carefully and suspiciously look at the tinsel laid out on them, shake your head and click your tongue disapprovingly. After looking at what you need, turn the selected item in your hands and do not show interest.

It has been noticed that it is very profitable to go shopping with a woman, or at least with a friend who will pull you by the sleeve and say that everything is much better at the next counter.

After hearing the price from the seller, make the most surprised face in the world so that he gets really nervous. Do not name the price yourself, because then you will not be able to reset it.

Tell the seller that you can buy all this much cheaper. Then put the goods in place and go. IN вашу обязанность входит безразличие к воплям и уговорам, которые последуют за этим действием. The righteous anger that grips the merchant is no more real than your “legend”.

Please note that the price in the market can be overestimated by 2, 3, or even 10 times. Do not give in to complaints and insist on the price that you yourself consider normal.

Souvenirs from Egypt

amulets
Price: from 1 $
Scarabs, cats, pyramids and funny camels are always good, but figurines and images that do not tell you anything can be symbols of the underworld. The people you give them to are unlikely to be pleased.

Papyrus
Price: 1-15 $
It is not worth spending a lot of time and effort on buying a hand drawing if you already like the images. It’s a souvenir! Short-lived images are made on banana leaf paper. IN отличие от настоящего папируса, она очень хрупка и если ее согнуть, сломается.

Hookah
Price: 30$
A real hookah for smoking, and not a beautiful piece of furniture, can be purchased in old cafes. You can also try it out there. The metal parts of the hookah must be stainless steel.

cartouches
Price: from 2 $
The most popular souvenirs from Egypt are gold or silver “ovals”, where the master writes the name of the person to whom the souvenir is intended in hieroglyphs. It is not customary to give such an ornament to oneself.

INосточные специи
Price: less than $1 per 100 gr
Previously, sailors traveled to the ends of the Earth and died for a bag of spices. Be sure to buy home a few bags of delicious seasonings to your taste.

Hibiscus
Price: about $10 per kg
Hibiscus tea is drunk both cold and hot. It perfectly invigorates and quenches thirst. Hibiscus покупайте тот, что подороже и лежит крупными красивыми лепестками.

Essential oils
Price: $15-20
There are so many small colored bottles of essential oils that it will take time to appreciate all their fragrances. Real oil should be very thick and have a strong smell.

goodies
Price: about 1$ per kg
Many people like to bring strawberries, mangoes, melons and dates as souvenirs from Egypt. You can also buy honey or jam from mango, guava, figs.

Egyptian music
Price: from 1 $
If you find some inexpensive bowed or stringed Arabic instrument in the back streets, and the answer to the question “what souvenir to bring from Egypt” has been received. A small drum is definitely worth buying. Discs with Egyptian, Arabic, Nubian music can be listened to and bought in shops in the markets.