According to Frederick Kunkle writing on April 19 in the Washington Post, the drop in tourism after the Revolution has hurt Egypt's economy.
"In February, tourism was off 80 percent compared with last year, and it was down 60 percent in March. That is a crippling blow for a sector that accounts for one of every seven Egyptian jobs and makes up about 11 percent of the nation's economy."
Egypt is perfectly safe now. There are so many opportunities for people to shop, and to view this land of amazing contrasts. Come see the New Egypt. Save Khan El Khalili.
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Article comments
1 - Glenn Contrarian
I'd love to go to the souk in Cairo...but I won't get the chance in the foreseeable future.
But I've got a story that you might still appreciate - my wife recently went to an inexpensive market area in the Philippines (the local equivalent of the souk, you might say), and there was a stand selling cheap knock-off purses - Dooney and Burke, Coach, Chanel, you get the idea (and I sometimes shop with my wife and that's the only reason I know these brands). She never buys a really, really nice purse for herself - she's too thrifty for that - but the chance to buy a faux Chanel for about thirty dollars was too much to pass up.
The girl watching the stand was a young Muslim girl, and was of course very eager to sell. Problem was, my wife only had enough money for the fare home plus about six dollars. The girl bargained and begged - you know how it is (and how Americans are largely clueless when it comes to bargaining).
When my wife explained to her that she only had six dollars that she could spend, the girl actually closed up her little shop and walked with my wife to three separate ATMs...none of which were working at the time! So the girl went ahead and sold the purse to my wife for about $6 - one-fifth the asking price - mostly because my wife was the first customer of the day, and in the Philippines the first customer is always your 'good luck' customer.
So I told my wife that before she flies home, she should go back to the girl and buy another purse at a better price, because the girl had shown a lot of gumption and was never rude. That, and we've got plans of someday opening a boutique there, and that's the kind of salesperson I want working for us!
2 - Warigia Bowman
Wow Glenn, that is a great story. What a nice young girl. Opening a boutique sounds fabulous!