An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833-1835 . for abouthalf an hour, he either relies for the protection of his propertyupon the next shopkeepers, or those opposite, or hangs a netbefore his shop. He seldom thinks it necessary to close and lockthe shutters, excepting at night, when he returns to his house; orwhen he goes to the mosque, on the Friday, to join in the noon-prayers of that day.—The apartments above the shops have beendescribed in the Introduction, Buying and selling are here very tiresome processes to personsunaccustom
An account of the manners and customs of the modern Egyptians, written in Egypt during the years 1833-1835 . for abouthalf an hour, he either relies for the protection of his propertyupon the next shopkeepers, or those opposite, or hangs a netbefore his shop. He seldom thinks it necessary to close and lockthe shutters, excepting at night, when he returns to his house; orwhen he goes to the mosque, on the Friday, to join in the noon-prayers of that day.—The apartments above the shops have beendescribed in the Introduction, Buying and selling are here very tiresome processes to personsunaccustomed to such modes of bargaining. When a shopkeeperis asked the price of any of his goods, he generally demands morethan he expects to receive ; the customer declares the price exor-bitant, and offers about half or two-thirds of the sum first-named ;the price thus bidden is, of course, rejected : but the shopkeeperlowers his demand ; and then the customer, in his turn, bids some-wliat higher than before : thus they usually go on uniil they meetabout half-way between the sum first demanded and that first. THE SHOP OF A TURKISH ^^•;RCHANT IN THE SOOKCALLED KHAN EL-KHALEELEE. \ Modem Ff^yflian [Page 293 BUYING AND SELLING. 293 offered, and so the bargain is concluded. But I believe that mostof the tradesmen are, by European travellers, unjustly blamed forthus acting ; since I have ascertained that many an Egyptian shop-keeper will sell an article for a profit of one per cefit., and evenless. When a person would make any but a trifling purchase,having found the article that exactly suits him, he generally makesup his mind for a long altercation : he mounts upon the mastabahof the shop, seats himself at his ease, fills and lights his pipe, andthen the contest of words commences, and lasts often half an hour,or even more. Sometimes the shopkeeper, or the customer, in-terrupts the bargaining by introducing some irrelevant topic ofconversation, as if the one had determined to ab
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