Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-13

Special Core spondercc of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.
CAIRO, December %, 1903.
The baZaars of Cairo are not as interest
ing those of Damascus Smyrna or even
Constantinople. because they have been so
thoroughly modernized. Eight thousand
foreign tourists invade them every year and
bring the modern atmosphere Hence the
native shops have English and French
signs, their shelves are filled with English.
French and German goods their methods
of doing business are becoming European
ICED. the ancient customs have been aban-
doned. and the handmade fabrics of Bag
dad and the Persian, Turkish and Arabian
manufactures are scarce. 1t is difficult now
II determine how many of the silk and cot
tor goods and other articles offered you in
the Cairo bazaars are made in Germany,
because the Germans are so clever in imi-
tating. and it is absolutely certain that
nearly all the Arab jewelry is made in
France. You cannot depend upon anything
nowadays unless you actually see it made.
The Profit in Honesty.
If the Cairo merchants who are catering
to tourists trade could appreciate the adj
vantage Of retaining ancient customs and
selling nothing but genuine native goods
they would benefit themselves as well as
their customers. but as long as the latter
are willing to pay three prices for tha
cheapest kind OF French and German ini
tations 1t is not profitable for the native
artisans to waste their time.
Yesterday / hunted up a native dealer
from whom 1 had purchased Persian tails
mans some years ago when he occupied
tiny little cupboard on one OF the back
streets in the bazaar quarter. and discov-
cred that he has developed and expanded
since. The guide took me to new build
ing in one of the conspicuous streets where
found him entirely modernized. The
quaint Old-fashioned l-bound chest IN
which his ancestors for many generations
had kept their valuables had disappeared
and a modern burglar-proof safe and his
new glass and metal show cases filed one
OF the best and largest shops in town. He
recognized me at once, welcomed me as an
old friend, and. having learned English
since had last seen him, explained his adj
vaEcement with great satisfaction. He
offered us cane-seated chairs made in VI
erna, brought US coffee in a French coffee
pot instead OF the old-faShioned dipper he
used to have and served It in china cups.
He showed us French jewelry Mexican and
Hungarian opals and other conventional
stones. talked about his agents in London,
Paris and New York who supplied him
with stock and kept him posted as to the
fashions in gems. but his interest in tails
mans and old-fashioned Persian and Byzan-
tine gold and silver and Jewels was gone.
This is true OF nearly all of the dealers in
the bazaars.
The Bazaar Quarter.
Nevertheless the bazaar quarter always
must be full Of interest to foreigners until
* burns up or Is torn away. The streets
are very narrow. Most of them are too
narrow for carriage to pass through, but
troops of camels laden with merchandise
are constantly moving back and forth. and
people who do not want to walk must hire
q donkey. There are donkey stands at
frequent intervals. where animals may be
hired for Is or 20 cents ar hour and i boy
always goes with donkey to look after 1t.
He runs along behind beating the animal
strength Of his lungs for the purpose Of en-
the donkey and warning people
to get out of the way. Each animal has
a brass plate on Its forehead bearing the
rumber of Its license. and the boy who be-
longs to that particular donkey has brass
band around his left arm bearing a similar
number.
The donkeys have changeable names.
according to the nationality Of the tour
list. II a German they are Kaiser Will
liam and Bismarck: If Americans they are
Theodore Roosevelt ard Yankee Doodle.
The camels are used for transporting
freight as ire express wagons. If Cairo
family wants to move it hires a camel.
In the bazaar quarter the houses are
high and the upper stories project over the
street. Most of the windows are protected
times beautifully carved. Ten or twelve
inches above the unpaved. dusty thorough
fare are little cupboard-lke rooms without
or doors. AID with full front
open to the street. The walls are covered
with shelves. upon which the stock In trade
Is displayed. and the merchants sit cross
legged on the floor waiting for customers
Every now and then there Is a cafe. where
groups of turbaned natives sit all day long.
solemnly smoking. slipping coffee and play
Ing dominoes or draughts. Each trade has
It's own quarters. You will find the gold
smiths and silversmiths together. the book
sellers. the carpet and rug dealers, the
SILK merchants and the shoemakers.
Business Methods.
There is no fixed price for anything. Ev-
cry customer is expected to show his skill
at bargain. He selects the article de-
sired, and usually criticises it's appearance
or material. or runs it down. as the Yam
KEGS say, before he cautiously inquiries the
price. The first figure is at least double,
and often three times, its actual value,
duel of wits occurs with an
dialogue. When customer
thinks he has shown his skill at negotia-
ton and has sufficiently impressed the
crowd which has gathered, he turns away
ana starts DOWN the street as III II ne would
seek what he wants elsewhere. Tho mer-
chant shakes his head makes some con-
temptuous remarks to the bystanders con-
corning the parsinony or the poverty OF the
customer, calls him a lot of bad names
then, tossing his head with Indifference,
yells at him to come back and proposes a
new figure. much below the rst. The ne
gotiatons are renewed and continued until
further concessions satisfy the purchaser,
who pays the price. wraps up the article
and mounts his donkey.
Similar proceedings are going on in front
of half the shops In the bazaar, whether
the object of the barter is a box Of sweet
meats or a pair of slippers, a shirt or a
saddle. Sometimes the negotiations are in
terruDted by an ungainly camel laden with
green fodder, tins of petroleum Or other
merchandise. which treads silently along
without warning, threatening to sweep
everything out of its way; and often the
wide panniers extend across the entire
width of the street and rake from the walls
outside the articles of merchandise that
have been exposed as advertisement
Only few women are to be seen, and