Egypt is souvenir heaven with almost every market and site selling trinkets to tourists. The only downside to purchasing souvenirs is that most places do not post prices or you are required to haggle for one. Between my two trips to Egypt, I have bought many souvenirs but would have purchased that much more if shopping was an easier experience. The only two places I have visited that posted prices and sales people did not chase you around were the Isis Papyrus Museum and Store in Luxor and the University of Cairo bookstore in Aswan.
 |
| My Egypt Collection Top Shelf: Bowl with pyramid and Saharan sand, Egyptian pin, stuffed camel, Arabian head piece, belly dancing scarf, Nubian dolls, alabaster blue sphinx Second Shelf: Horus book ends, books purchased online and in Egypt Third Shelf: Bottle, cans, juice box; picture collage from 1st trip; Collectors edition book Bottom Shelf: Belly dancing outfit and more books |
The following are examples of souvenirs one can purchase while touring Egypt along with some recommendations.
Postcards
Postcards are one of the more popular souvenir items and can easily be found at most places in Egypt. On my first trip, our tour guide helped us obtain two very nice sets of postcards - one at Abu Simbel and the other outside the Roman Catacombs in Alexandria. For my recent journey, I was able to purchase good quality postcards at the Le Meridien Pyramids hotel and then, at the Valley of the Kings, our tour guide showed us an excellent postcard set with CD that we were able to buy for 100 LE (about $5.60 USD). Unfortunately, the postcards I purchased at Abu Simbel during my 2018 trip were horrible quality - blurry images and thin paper.
I recommend that one purchases postcards at Valley of the Kings and Abu Simbel since you are not allowed to take pictures inside the tombs and temples. However, ask your tour guide for help in selecting the postcards since they generally know where to buy the better quality ones.
Books
Books are another item that make a great souvenir. On both trips, I visited a bookstore branch of the University of Cairo located in the market stalls by the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan. This is a really nice store selling books on a myriad of topics in several languages. The store also sells postcards, toys, bookmarks, and miniature maps. Another great aspect of the store is that all items have a fixed price and no haggling is required. Between my two trips, I have purchased about 15 books covering Ancient Egyptian history, temple art and architecture, and history of the Coptic Christians.
NOTE If you intend to purchase books, remember to pack lighter so you do not exceed the airline weight limit on luggages. For my 2018 trip, all the books I purchased were hard cover and they added about 10 pounds to my luggage.
Papyrus Paintings
Papyrus paintings are a popular souvenir item and can be found basically anywhere in Egypt. The only issue is that the paintings sold in some markets are not genuine papyrus but rather made of banana leaves. On both trips, we were taken to the Isis 2 Papyrus Museum and Store in Luxor which makes and sells genuine, quality papyrus paintings. I have purchased three paintings from the store - a painting of the Pharaoh Ramesses making an offering to the goddess Isis, a map of Ancient Egypt, and a painting of the Tree of Life and Knowledge. The paintings sold at the store range in price from less than a hundred dollars to some costing more than a thousand dollars.
NOTE When in Egypt, talk to your tour guide or hotel manager to get recommendations on where to purchase authentic papyrus paintings.
NOTE The papyrus paintings are rolled and placed in a cardboard tube so they are easy to carry and transport. I highly suggest placing the tubes in your carry-on luggage so they do not get crushed because the cardboard is not that strong.
A cartouche contained the inscribed name of a king or queen and it was oval shaped and enclosed by a rope styled border. In Egypt, tourists can purchase a personalized cartouche as a unique keepsake in a variety of formats - necklace, engraved on a shirt or sweatshirt, etc. These items are available on board the Nile cruises, in some hotels, and markets. During my first trip to Egypt, I purchased a cartouche as a necklace on board the Nile cruise as recommended by my tour guide. The cartouche was made of silver and was approximately $25 with the chain costing an additional $20. On my recent trip, I visited the jewelry store on board the Nile cruise interested in purchasing a second cartouche necklace but they were too expensive. The sales person was offering a white gold cartouche for about $550 with the chain costing an extra $150. Some of my tour mates purchased colorful shirts and sweatshirts engraved with a cartouche and while they were nice, I prefer the cartouche as a necklace.
 |
| The silver has tarnished over 8 years. |
Essential Oils
During my first trip, our tour guide took us to a perfume and essential oils store which seem to be very popular in Aswan. It was not a pleasant experience since the sales people were extremely assertive and the essential oils were a bit pricey considering the quality and quantity per bottle. In order to get the sales people to leave me alone, I did a ‘buy three get one free deal’ purchasing 4 bottles of essential oils that I will definitely never use. My recent tour guide offered to take us to an essential oils store but I declined given my previous experience and then, in a later discussion, he stated that many times the oils sold in stores catering to tourists are not the best quality.
Rugs
Carpets are another interesting souvenir one can purchase in Egypt. On this recent trip, my tour mates and I had the opportunity to visit the Akhnaton Carpets School in Giza. The first floor of the building serves as a school for children to learn the trade of carpet weaving and said children and their teachers gave us a short demonstration. Then we were guided to the second floor that was filled with tons of rugs of all shapes and sizes. While the rugs were beautiful, most were a bit expensive for my budget. A small square that was meant to serve as a coaster cost almost $30. From my experience, stores that cater to tourists tend to have higher prices so if interested in a rug, visit one for the locals.
The above items are just a sample of some of the souvenirs one can purchase while in Egypt. I have also bought a belly dancing outfit, stuffed toy camel, Nubian dolls, hibiscus tea leaves, notebooks, and a necklace made of camel bones. I purchased the belly dancing outfit in an Aswan market for the Nile cruise’s Egyptian night and I will never forget how I spent about 20 minutes haggling with the seller for a decent price. In the end, I paid $35 for the outfit and determined that I have no haggling skills. The Nubian dolls and necklace I purchased at the Temple of Philae and both are amongst my favorite souvenirs. As for the hibiscus tea leaves, on my recent trip when we had some free time, our tour guide took us to a local market in Aswan that sold a variety of teas, herbs, and spices.
 |
| Nubian dolls |
 |
| Necklace made of camel bones |
 |
| Aswan herb and spice market |
 |
| Coptic Christian prayer beads |
Good information
ReplyDelete