The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-10-09
BAzAARS OF CAIRO
Where Time Is Without Value
and Sales Wait on Patience.
BARGAINING AS A FINE ART.

Polite and Loquaeious, the Oriental
Shopkeeper VIII HaesIe Over the
] Price of an Article From Dawn Until
/ Dark-A Sample Transaction.
He is the selfsame fellow still. the
Cairtne merchant as in the days of /
Haroun-al-Raschid.H He squats in cross
legged cOntentment as OF yore, amen
able only to the loquacious system Of
bargaining dear to the heart Of the
oriental. The western tourist. foolish
" regarding time as Of value. will lose
all equanimity long before he has COM
pIeted the smallest transaction. If his
knowledge Of the east and his patience
suffice and he begins negotiations early
enough in the day not to be driven
forth as the merchant sets up his shut
tiers at nightfal he may obtain the ar
tic!e he seeks at just and equitable
price. If he gains possession of it in
less than the accustomed time he will
certainly have paid more than its mar
ket value.
EagamundO. the western traveller eX
perienced in the ways of the east,
catches sight during a stroll through
the baZaarS Of an Arabic blade that
takes his fancy. 1t hangs high at the
top of the open booth. on the raised
floor Of which >erenely Squats the pro
prietor. with folded legs. NaGamundo.
as from the mereSt curiosity, pauses
to run his eye over the countless ar
: ticleS. suggests with a half stified
vawn that the Scimitar looks like what
might be convincing weapon in the
, hands of an enemy, ventures to hope
that the merchant is enjoying fine
weather and Sfr0llS leiSurely on. The
shOpkeeper continues to puff drowslly
at his wate- bottle until the western
or is all but ont of earshOt. Then he ap
} pears suddenly TO awake and droneS
: out languid invitation To return.
: NIgUnundO pays 10 heed to the sum
I mons for some moments. gaZeS alb
, stractedly upon the wares displayed
in another booth. then wanderS slowly
back. The merchant hopes that the
traveller is enjoying the best of health.
invites him to squat i'll the bit OF
Il space not already occupied by himself
g or his wares. offers Il cigarette and
g falls to discussing the state of the cot
: ton crop in the delta BY the time the
n second cigarette is lighted he turns the
; conversation deftly to the scimitar and
y remarks that though it is hung among
his wares rather for ornament than
for sale it is possible he may some
Z day tire of beholdin@ it and part with
{ it fOr-perhapS LOCO riaSterS. Naga-
Y mundo. putting reminiScently for a
time. recalls having heard Il friend ex-
press Il desire to obtain such Il Weap-
on for. say. - piasters or 50 and
wonders. after all. why that friend
should care for so useless an article
The shopkeeper regrets that the two
e prices named do not more nearly coin
A, eide. trusts that the foundations will
n not be so late this year as last and
d reaches again for the tube of his mar
, Chile. Nagamundo expresses his de-
- light that the khedive has recovered
from his recent attack. thanks the
merchant for his disinterested hospital
y ity and Saunters away.
u The shortest instant before he is
"a finally lost from view in the surging
Ie stream Of bazaar lOungerS he is called
d back to learn that the merchant is OF
- the opinion that the new land tax vii
g work more effectively than the. old
+. that the scmitar is probably worth only
80 piaSterS and that some of tht
= eucalyptus trees in the ESbekieh gar
/. dens are to be removed. With n
IS due respect to Cromer Pasha Naga
in mundO doubts the practicability of bis
ID latest scheme of taxation and hope:
in that his friend may somewhere ruI
across such scimitar ut 100 piasters.
- Thus the transaction continues.
third. Il fourth. even Il fifth time Naga
n mundo returns. BY the sixth visit h
% has dropped the fiction Of a friend anc
~ openly offers 223 piasters for the blade
and the shopkeeper arouses himsel
n, sufficiently to take the weapon dow
for inspection and expresses willing
ness to part with it for %.
of Over newly rolled cigarettes the ne
sotiation proceeds, now touching upol
the prevalence of ophthalmia. anol
- skirting the matter Of scimitars. thei
nc manufacture and price. Speaking o
scimitars. the merchant suspects tina
for the one in hand he would be salts
} fed perhaps at go piasters. Naga
mundO lays that sum-which bot
m recognized from the beginning as tn
T just price-on the mat between then
of grasps his newly acquired propert
es and. amid protestatiOns Of lifelon
ID friendship from the merchant. take
II his departure
7s' Manchester business men and Oh
: cago captains of industry. scornin
~ such childish methods. have dived int
oil the maelstrom of the baZaars of Cair
Ia with the avowed intention Of "dOin
business after the manner OF toda
and the west; but all in vain. Th