he shops
goes on in plain view from the street. The shops themselves are mere
cubicles, from eight to ten feet wide and seldom more than from six to
eight feet deep. In certain streets the makers of shoes and slippers are
massed in solid rows; then come the workers in brass and metals; then
the jewelers, and following these may be dealers in shawls and in curios
of various kinds. The native shopkeeper sits cross-legged amid his
stock and, although he shows great keenness in getting you to examine
his wares, he never reveals any haste in closing a bargain.

Shopping in this native quarter and in the great Muski bazar that
adjoins it is a constant source of amusement to the foreign woman who
has a fondness for bargaining. These Arabs and Egyptians never expect
one to give more than half what is demanded, except in the case of a few
large shops in which the price is marked. If one of the silver shawls
made at Assiut attracts a lady's attention and the polite shopkeeper
demands five pounds sterling, she may safely offer him two pounds, and
then, after haggling for a half hour, she will probably become the
possessor of the shawl for two pounds ten shillings. Of one thing the
traveler may be sure: he will never get any article from an Egyptian on
which the shopkeeper cannot make a small profit.

The Muski bazar is about a mile long and, although many European shops
line it, the street still retains its Oriental attractiveness. Branching
off from it are many narrow streets crowded with shops on both sides.
Here may be seen the real life of Old Cairo, unhampered by any foreign
innovations. The street is not more than twelve feet wide and above the
first floor of the houses projecting latticed windows and open balconies
reduce this width to three or four feet. Looking up one sees only a
narrow slit of blue sky, against which are outlined several tiers of
latticed windows. From these the harem women look down upon the street
life in which they can have no real part. Peeping over the balconies may
be seen black eyes that gleam above the yashmak or Oriental veil worn by
the poorer classes. This veil covers the face almost to the eyes and it
is held in place by a curious bit of bamboo that comes down over the
forehead to the nose. The women of the better class do not wear this
ugly yashmak, but content themselves with a white silk veil that is
stretched across the lower part of the face, leaving the eyes and a part
of the nose unco