Papyrus, Cairo

If you wish to buy some papyrus as a souvenir then beware of fakes.

Real papyrus is quite strong and has vertical and horizontal lines running through it (like a criss cross pattern when you hold it up to the light).

Fake papyrus is made from brittle banana leaf and won't have the criss cross pattern.

Fun Alternatives: If you wish to buy some genuine papyrus art, go to a genuine shop. We visited Aegyptus Papyrus (see my shopping tip for info). There's something to suit all budgets there with art starting at just 50 L.E. (£5 UK sterling).

1 more image

Tour guides are all the same around the world, after bringing you to the sights, they'd always bring you to a favored store for you to buy something. Well, in Cairo that 'something' would mean essences and papyrus scrolls.

As with any product, there are also knock-offs when it comes to essences and papyrus. Essences may actually be made from cooking oil and after some days would look stagnant or rancid. True papyrus scrolls are made from actual papyrus plants while the fakes are made from bananas (not sure if they use the trunks or the leaves) which also do not last long and easily tear. As one might expect, fakes are typically sold cheap and by street hawkers and at the Khan al-Kalili stalls. So to get the real thing, either just go along with your guide to his preferred store or just walk along the streets near the pyramids and you're sure to see many essence stores or papyrus 'museums'.

Unique Suggestions: Now the real stuff are of course pricier, so if you wish to buy, then just get something for yourself, your loved ones or family. You may opt to buy the fakes to give to acquaintances, business associates, colleagues at work, your boss, etc. At least you have a reason to haggle when you buy a lot.

If you have no interest to buy at all, then just walk away...

1 more image

If you come with your guide, you will get into the right papyrus shop/institute. When you come alone, check the address below and keep in mind that the Giza shops could be safe for you as they are under inspections and certifications. They wil be more expensive though. The good papyrus shop will give you a quick demonstration show on how to make the papyrus. After it, they will show you the models of papyrus they have. The papyrus with the original painting of Egyptian painters will be extremely expensive, could reach a thousand dollar for the big size!!You may get 10-20US$ for the small ordinary painted papyrus. Take a look around the shop and if you are interested and planning to bring papyrus as the souvenirs from Egypt, this is the good place to buy. Just write the model`s numbers which you are interested on and give to the salesman.Just Be careful : THEY MAY PUSH YOU (YOU MAY NOT EVEN NOTICE IT) INTO BUYING MORE PAPYRUS THAN YOU HAVE PLANNED BEFORE. Do BARGAIN!! Apparently, they won`t let you go without get something in their store, so you may enjoy your bargainings.:-))MAKE SURE THEY WILL GIVE YOU GOOD ROUND BOXES FOR EACH OF YOUR PAPYRUS. It would protect your papyrus on its way home with you. The most popular paintings on the papyrus will be THE JUDGEMENT DAY, LUNAR CALENDER (EGYTIAN`S), THE BUG `GOD OF LUCK`, NEFERTITI, KING TUT, or depend on your fondest memory you have in Egypt.
These pictures taken in GOLDEN EAGLE PAPYRUS, SAKKARA ROAD-Before Ring Road Pyramids-Giza-Egypt.Telp 7719585

If your taxi driver, or anyone else for that matter, recommends a visit to a papyrus museum, DON'T GO!! They aren't really museums, just stores selling papayrus, but they all have the word museum attached to the end of their name. And once you're in, will try every trick in the book to get you to buy something, usually as astronomically inflated prices. After all, they need to kep a commision forthe taxi driver, or whoever takes you there.

Unique Suggestions: Walk in alone, without a local guide or taxi driver. This allows them to cut out the middleman's commision, which they would charge you for, anyways. And as with any other souvenir in Egypt, offer 1/10th to 1/8th of the original asking price. If they don't agree, walk out. The shop attendant will follow you out, and keep lowering the price as much as he can. That's th price you should pay.
It does pay to shop around, however, and you'll find lots of papyrus 'museums' all over the place.

3 more images

first of all we will take u from the hotel by bus then the trip will start to the perimeds , then we will start our trip by camal of house .. there is 3 kind of this trip :
1) the short one : we will ride the hourses about 1 hour at the desert and we will take a photo with the peramids .
2) the meduim one : we will ride the hourses about 2 hours at the desert
3) the long one : we will ride hourses for 3 hours to sakara permed and then we will return back by bus to the shop .......
* then we will return to the shop if any one wants to buy paperus or perphum
* then we will camp beside the peramids " a good view of the permids "
* the trip including laungh and soft drink and at the camping including the dinner and drinks

Unique Suggestions: first : of all u have to email me"f_toti2002@hotmail.com" befor the day u want to do it by 1 week at least or call me at +20121778422
second : at least 6 persons , if u wanna to camping

Fun Alternatives: the trip will be so fun and everyone will enjoy it very much .......... and if u will not enjoy u have to take ur mony

2 more images

first of all we will take u from the hotel by bus then the trip will start to the perimeds , then we will start our trip by camal of house .. there is 3 kind of this trip :
1) the short one : we will ride the hourses about 1 hour at the desert and we will take a photo with the peramids .
2) the meduim one : we will ride the hourses about 2 hours at the desert
3) the long one : we will ride hourses for 3 hours to sakara permed and then we will return back by bus to the shop .......
* then we will return to the shop if any one wants to buy paperus or perphum
* then we will camp beside the peramids " a good view of the permids "
* the trip including laungh and soft drink and at the camping including the dinner and drinks

Unique Suggestions: first : of all u have to email me"f_toti2002@hotmail.com" befor the day u want to do it by 1 week at least or call me at +20121778422
second : at least 6 persons , if u wanna to camping

Fun Alternatives: the trip will be so fun and everyone will enjoy it very much .......... and if u will not enjoy u have to take ur mony

While you visit the Giza area, watch for the many papyrus museums. They are actually shops. And when you get an invitation to visit one of these "museums" (you will get many), keep in mind that papyrus plants do not exist any more in Egypt.

When you are obviously a foreigner, you might be greated in the street by very friendly local people who, after asking you what you do, where you come from, will tell you that they are art students and will invite you to come and have a look at their art gallery. What they really want is to sell you some sort of souvenir, usually some Egyptain designs on papyrus. Of course, they will tell you that you don't have to buy but it's very good quality and you should really consider it, etc.

Unique Suggestions: If you really don't want to buy anything, just be polite and decline the invitation to go to the gallery in the first place.

If you might be interested (at the end of the day, papyrus is something to bring back from Egypt), go along, have a look, and be honest about what you want and don't want. Don't let the person make you buy 4 things when you really want only one.

Tell them to demonstrate to you that it is real papyrus: you shouldn't be able to rub off the ink by moistening the papyrus and oyu should be able to roll it tight and unroll it without leaving marks.

finally, make sure the price you pay is not higher than what you would pay for the same thing at the Papyrus Museum.

At the end of the day, you will have had a nice chat and a nice cup of tea and you will have done some of your tourist shopping.

Fun Alternatives: You can buy your souvenirs from "official" shops such as the one in the Papyrus Museum.