There are many businesses in Cairo that seek to please the tourist. You can ride a camel or buy souvenirs, tour the Pharonic Village or buy perfume oils.

Cairo is the center of the Egyptian Perfume business which sells perfume oils to the French Perfume industry.  It is only natural that almost any place in the city you can be enticed into a "perfume palace" for mint tea, a presentation of local copies of famous fragrances and some haggling over sales of perfume bottles or bottles of perfume oils. Many of the artifacts found in the tombs were related to perfume oils. See More... 

But, the enterprising Egyptians have developed all sorts of tourist products and experiences, some of the ones we encountered were:

-- The Golden Palace perfume shop, selling perfume bottles and essence oils.
-- Souvenir shops selling books, t-shirts, galabeyas, replicas of antiques, fake scarabs, gold or silver cartouches with your name inside, and anything else the tourist might want.
-- Rug shops that sell camel hair rugs.
-- Shops that demonstrate papyrus making and that sell papyrus with hand painted scenes from the tombs.
-- Street sellers selling jewelry, post cards, papyrus with tomb scenes, fragrant necklaces of flowers, replicas of antiques, head clothes.
-- Night clubs that have belly dancers.
-- Sound and Light shows at the pyramids (and also at Karnak in Luxor).
-- Ragab's Pharaonic Village which explained the gods and some of the ancient Egyptian way of life, and also had a replica of a temple on a small scale (with a soon to be constructed gift shop in the shape of a pyramid).
-- Twilight boat trips with dinner, on the Nile.
-- Sailing on the Nile in a Felucca.
-- The Kahn al-Khalili market with its canvas bags (great bargain, near the Bab al-Futuh) , patchwork cushions and wall hangings, brass works, and real antiquities.
-- Hundreds of mosques, museums and Egyptian and Roman antiquity sites.

Papyrus art is sold all over Egypt. Egyptian tomb scenes are printed onto modern papyrus and hand painted. These two examples are typical of the detail.

Click here for a beautiful screensaver Egyptian Tomb Scenes: Papyrus Art

About Baksheesh

Backsheesh is a cross between a tip, a donation, and a fee. Sometimes children beg for "baksheesh", but mostly the term refers to a 10% commission on services that the Egyptians exchange with each other, or the tip you give those who provide a service. Our first experience with Baksheesh was at the Pyramids:

Around the Pyramids, there are many locals dressed in traditional garb with camels or horses decorated is colorful style. These men earn their living posing for pictures, and will agree to pose for a fee. When we first went to the Pyramids we took a picture of one of these men through our car window and were promptly tracked down with demands for baksheesh. Our driver calmed him down and sent him away but explained to us that it was his business to pose for photos, and we should expect to pay Baksheesh. That seemed fair. The next day we took a wonderful video of a man and his camels. Daisy and Canasta.

Ragab's Pharaonic Village is a "theme" park. Guests travel by statues of Egyptian gods in floating stadium seats. Explanations of the gods are given via a recorded presentation, therefore you must group together according to language. Also along the canals are human dioramas of Egyptian life. The players act out perfume making, papyrus making, harvesting grains and making mud bricks. The trip ends at a brightly painted replica of a temple. A guide explains the various functions of the traditional courts of the temples. Click to see more about the Pharonic Village.

TOP 5 SCREENSAVERS

1- Pyramids of Egypt

2- Egypt Tomb Scenes
Papyrus Art

3- Egypt of David Roberts

4- Campollion's Pantheon
Gods of Egypt

5- Jewels of Karnak
White Chapel Red Chapel

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