Middle Eastern Hospitality

I wouldn’t dream of going to Egypt without tacking on some vacation time! The sights are stunning, the culture is so different from Canada and I loved experiencing it all. I loved the incredible hospitality of the people I met. A PPIC-Work employee, Mohammed Shoman, went out of his way to take us to beautiful cafes, and even to the market where he did all the bartering on my behalf. It is a tremendous asset to have an Egyptian shop with you since the shop owners will give hugely inflated prices to tourists. It was really neat to witness the bartering process. In a jewelry shop, Mohammed had a pretty fiesty exchange with the owner, but when the deal was done, they shook hands and smiled, and were all friendly. I expected the owner to be upset with him since he likely would have got a much better price in dealing with me. I showed my surprise, but Mohammed explained that after the business was done, there were no hard feelings--they were good friends!

The photo shows (from left) Joyce Kroeker who you'll meet later, me, Mohammed Shoman and Julie Stevens. (Julie was an intern for MEDA last year. Mohammed managed to charm her off her feet--they are engaged.)

I'm pictured here with MEDA intern Kara O’Brien and a friendly Egyptian shop owner. We were checking out his scarves when he offered to dress us up. After a bartering session and successful sale he brought us hibiscus tea. Where does that happen in North America?