Buying clothes in Egypt for our trip

[MoneyGuy]

We're going to Egypt and Kenya in January. First stop is Cairo. I thought it might be best to buy warm-weather clothes in Cairo rather than buying them here? Is this recommended? I understand bartering is necessary in Cairo? Anyone have recommendations on any of this?

[Hlitner]

I can only quote my wife, who is sitting across the room. "Clothes wise, I didn't see anything that satisfy most American women's taste." In Egypt, women do not wear shorts (or even Capris) and unless you want to spend your trip in long ugly skirts forget it! By the way, many of the younger Egyptian women wore jeans, but of course kept their hair covered. She does say that you can buy tunic-type shirts (they will all be long sleeves) in the markets or bazaar (the Khalili bazaar is amazing). Our advice is to take your clothes from home. We just returned from 2 weeks in Egypt and it was a wonderful trip. We did it on our own by arranging for private guides (all licensed Egyptologists) and drivers and loved not being confined by a group. During our trip we had 4 different guides (different parts of the country) and the licensed guides make a good living and would be considered upper middle-class in Egypt. They all told us they like to take ocassional trips to Istanbul, because this is the place to shop! Go figure.

 

Hank

[Janman]

Hank,

We will be going to Egypt (Cairo and Luxor) for a week in April and would like to take private day tours. Who did you use in these locations? What did they charge?

Thanks and Happy Cruising!

Janet

[Hlitner]

Sorry to take so long to respond, but we have been traveling and I am still trying to catch up on many boards. We used a US agency in Herndon VA which is owned by an Egyptian. He made arrangements through his corresponding agency in Cairo which is called Ancient Royal Tours. The general manager is Ayman Reda and he runs a decent company. Ayman arranged all of our cars..drivers. and licensed guides. Licensed guides in Egypt are very special as they have at least a 4 year college degree (generally in Egyptology) and have passed a rigerous government oral exam. Ayman's phone number in Cairo is 202 2875100 and his e-mail is ayman@ancientroyal.com.

 

Hank