Name of Shop: Various Shops
What To Buy: My favourite purchase from Luxor and something I still use from day to day, eight years later, was a large shawl in dark blue, with a creamy pattern on it. I bought several as gifts and still see those in use too. They are such a generous size that I managed to sleep under one, along with two other friends, on a bus journey we made in India a year later! I have never seen such nice ones this size on sale in the U.K.
The seller tried to persuade me that the shawl was made of genuine cashmere but I was not convinced; the cream thread is synthetic for certain and possibly the others are too, although the label features an image of a sheep, which he told me was a goat! To avoid damage, I have always sent the shawl to the dry cleaners, rather than washing it myself, and it still looks new today.
What To Pay: I am no good at all at bargaining to reduce the price but, following our discussion on its most likely fibre content, the seller seemed very keen for me to buy the shawl and followed me almost along the entire street, reducing the price as he went and so I simply waited until he stopped reducing the price and turned back towards his own shop before handing him the last sum he’d offered to sell it for. Back at the hotel they said this was a fair price. I cannot remember now exactly how much I paid but it was certainly not more than the equivalent of seven pounds in English currency at that time.
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Theme: Women's Clothes
Directions: There were many shops selling identical shawls on the main souvenir shopping street
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on Nov 15, 2005
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