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 | Luxor Harrassment Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 16 |  |
 | |  |  | Harrassment: Hassle | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
In Luxor you cannot escape the hawkers wanting you to part with your money. It can get to you, if you let it, as some are really persistant. They are mostly found along the stretch of the Nile by the Old Winter Palace, where they will have their Felucca sailing boats or motor boats waiting. Some try to find out exactly where you are going, why you are going and what you will be doing tomorrow so they can see if they are in with a chance of selling something to you. It can get annoying when all you want to do is stroll along in private. Just keep saying no thank you and keep walking, or say that it is your last day and you have done everything, as most of the time, if they try and sell you one thing, and that didn’t work, they will move onto something else that they could offer you! Obviously you can listen to them and see if you can haggle a reasonable price eg we wanted to go to Valley of the Kings, privately, and not on a tour, so when one of the hawkers approached us we got him to give us a price for return transport to the West Bank by motor boat, and a taxi for the main part of the day to the Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatchepsut and Colossi of Memnon. You can always walk away if they don’t come down to a reasonable price. Sometimes, you are not always sure if you are being ripped off, but enjoy it, you are on holiday! The best thing to do is pay what you think something is worth. It is best not to get too hung up on money. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Harrassment: The baksheesh monster near Luxor Temple | Tip Rating:  | | | | |
Baksheesh (Arabic word for tips) is a way of life in Luxor - and that is understandable considering more than 60% of the people depend on tourism for their livelihood. But I never imagined it could be practiced in such an undignified and demeaning way - until I met the baksheesh monster at the mosque near the Luxor Temple. Those who've been to Luxor would have noticed the beautiful mosque on the main square beside the Luxor Temple complex. An attraction in its own right, it was the object of my shutter-happy mood one afternoon. As I was happily taking pictures of this beautiful piece of Islamic architecture, a smiling man beckoned me to enter the mosque and take more pictures. True enough, he showed me the beautiful interiors with the grand chandelier and intricately-carved wooden mihrab (the niche that points to the direction of Makkah). I was having a grand time - enjoying the friendliness and kind gesture of this man - until I was about to take out my wallet and give a donation (which was the norm). Before I could say my shukran (thank you) and give him my donation, he demanded 20 pounds (~USD 3.50) as baksheesh. I was taken aback. Yes, I was planning to give him 5 pounds (~USD 0.90), but more than the amount itself, I didn't feel good being squeezed for a "donation." It just didn't feel right. So I gave him a 5 pound bill and said my thank you, and that's when he metamorphosed into a ravenous baksheesh monster and went ballistic shouting who knows what (in Arabic), while at the same time shoving me out of mosque just stopping short of hurling me out with my shoes (I still had to put them on). It was a horrible, humiliating experience. And one that left a very bad taste. As I was leaving, I can't help but wonder, if the money was for the mosque, why did he put it inside his pocket and left the mosque, too? I can only say "bless him!" Leave a Comment
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