Special price for you, my friend: the art of haggling

I rarely buy souvenirs.

Partly because I live out of a suitcase, but mostly because I'm broke.

These days I have to budget in a cup of coffee.  And no, I don't go to Starbucks. Otherwise this would be a legitimate thing to do. $8 a latte adds up.

British guy doesn't really buy souvenirs either. British guy just prefers to do his day-to-day shopping while we're traveling. Which is why I am very familiar with the menswear shops in Turkey and Morocco. If you want to know where to get the best deals on boxers in Casablanca or Istanbul, let me know.

This is what British guy purchased on our recent trip to Morocco:

• One leather satchel 
• Boxers
• Ceramic spice container
• Argan oil 
• Postcards
• Cell phone case

This is what I purchased:

• Postcards

As you can tell, I'm a real shopper. Not that British guy is either. He wears the same pair of North Face pants every day (ok, fine, "trousers" for all you Brits giggling in the back row). I'm pretty sure he just can't be bothered to shop for things he actually needs unless he's traveling. Depending on where you're traveling, this is not such a bad idea. Shopping in Morocco and Turkey is a lot cheaper than shopping in Europe. But you have to know how to haggle. 

Haggling can be intimidating if you're not used to it. Often Westerners just want to be told a price and then--depending on the price-- either hand over their money or walk away. End of story. Haggling can seem tedious and many people approach it with a bit of trepidation. Here are some steps* to help streamline the process and make sure you get--if not a good price--at least not an over-the-top price.

Let's say you're in Morocco and you want a leather satchel.** You find one that looks nice and you enquire as to the price. The guy asks 800 dirham (roughly 80 euro or 100 USD) for it. That sounds like more than you should be paying, but you don't really know for sure. Here's what to do:

1. First off, halve his price. Whatever the asking price is, chop it in half. In this case, counter him with 400.
2. He'll probably come back with 600.
3. Sigh heavily.
4. He'll say 550.
5. Make a face.
6. He'll drop it to 500.
7. Shake your head and make a sound that conveys you still think it's too expensive.
8. He'll drop it down to 400.
9. Walk away and repeat until you have a sense of what a reasonable price is.

The best thing to do is to shop around. This will allow you to gauge what the market price is which can be one of the intimidating things about haggling. Often you've been in the country for less than 24 hours. You can barely remember what country you're in, let alone what the standard price is for a leather satchel. Go to other stalls in the market places that sell leather satchels and go through the same thing. If you can't get any of them lower than 400 dirham then chances are that's a pretty standard price for it.

Don't worry about haggling for food or hotels. DO haggle with taxi cab drivers and when shopping for anything other than food or other basic items. Basically anything you find in a grocery store, you won't need to haggle for.

If haggling really intimidates you, having a friend along to go back and forth with can make the process a little less painful. See below.

British guy: What do you think about this satchel?

Me: It's alright. I guess.

Vendor: It's 800 dirham.

British guy: 800? Hm, what do you think?

Me: I don't know. That sounds like a lot.

Vendor: Ok, ok. For you, 600.

British guy: 600?

Me: That's pretty much 60 euro. Do you really need to spend 60 euro on a leather satchel?

Vendor: It's handmade and lined with camel skin. I can give it to you for 500, but no lower.

British guy: I do like the look of it. It's perfect for carrying classified documents around.

Me: ::makes disapproving and unconvinced face::

British guy: Well, how much would you pay for it?

Me: I don't know. Probably not more than 300.

Vendor: Ok, ok. Student price. 400.

Et voilà. Or keep haggling if you're still not satisfied with the price.

A good haggler is somewhere in-between the individual who accepts the first price and the individual who will stand for hours arguing over pennies.

If you still think haggling really isn't your thing, you can always hire a personal shopper. 

And of course, it goes without saying that you should always purchase items from shops that have been previously endorsed by President Obama.

Egyptian Spice Market, Istanbul, 2009

*These steps are from my own experiences living in the West Bank, Palestine and traveling through other areas in the Middle East and North Africa. It's not meant to be a comprehensive guide to how people haggle around the world. Just the regions I've been in. If you have any stories or tips from your experiences in these or other areas, definitely post them in the comments section or drop me a line and I'll include them in the post.

**With leather bags in these areas, I would recommend choosing one that is a little bit more expensive. Often the local tanning process uses a urine-base which is fine in an arid climate, but when you get it home you'll start to notice that it smells like something died. The smell can also result from the hide being poorly preserved before the tanning process. So with leather products, I'd invest a little bit more time and money to make sure you get something that won't have all the passengers on the plane ride home looking at you in disgust. 

How Istanbul gave me an elevator complex

When most people think of Istanbul they conjure up dramatic images of mosques, mosaics, and whirling dervishes. Me? I think of elevators. Elevators that get stuck and don't open. 

I've had the extreme pleasure of visiting Istanbul three times and each time I visit, I enjoy it more. Except for the elevators. The first time I visited, I was there for a conference and I didn't get to see much, but I saw enough to make me want to go back as soon as possible. So when a friend invited me last August to spend a week and a half with her in Turkey, I jumped at the opportunity. 


I've been fascinated with the country for quite some time. It's rich culture and dramatic history peaked my interest, and since I'm an environmental politics geek really sophisticated person...the negotiations between Turkey, Syria and Iraq over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are nothing short of fascinating. So I'm going to spend the next entry writing in extreme detail about them. 


...


Just kidding. I'm going to write about getting stuck in an elevator. 


It was in August. I'd been in Bethlehem for just over a month and it had been an amazing month, but I wasn't about to turn down another visit to Istanbul and a few days in Marmaris. 


My friend and I had arranged to travel to Turkey with a Jordanian travel agency who arranged all of our hotels and transportation. They also provided guided tours for an extra charge, but we figured that exploring Istanbul on our own would be more fun so that's what we did. Everything was going smoothly until day 3. We had visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern (my favorite), Topkapi Palace, toured the Bosphorus strait, eaten lunch at a restaurant on the Galata Bridge, and explored both the Egyptian Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. 

Istanbul, 2009

Egyptian Spice Market, Istanbul, 2009

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, 2009

We were now ready to take on the Princes' Islands. Except we didn't actually make it to the island we were intending to go to (there are 9, the ferries generally stop at the 4 largest ones). We accidently went to a lesser known one, and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about until we realized (too late) that we had gotten off the ferry one stop too early. 


If you're the editor of a big, really important travel magazine please note that this was a fluke. I never get lost or have anything bad happen to me while traveling. I always choose the best hotels, the best restaurants, kick it with the locals and am generally one of the most well-versed travelers ever. If you've ever traveled with me...now is a great time to keep your mouth shut. Especially certain persons who accompanied me on an infamous 20 mile hike in Northern California. (If you hike with me and I tell you "just one more mile," just hit me. You won't regret it. Promise). Or certain persons who accompanied me on a road trip up the coast of Northern California and Oregon. Or that trip to Mexico. Or the greyhound bus across the United States (Please. Don't ever, ever do this). The trip to Luxembourg (don't pack while drunk). That overnight bus ride to Hamburg from Heidelberg (19 euro for a reason). Or...ok. That's enough. 

So we wandered around the wrong island --which was a very nice island despite not being the one we had originally wanted to see. We had lunch at an incredibly overpriced restaurant. If you're in Turkey and you go to visit the Princes' islands, you should just bring your own lunch. Unless you like paying 20 dollars for three bits of octopus tentacles and one calamari ring. If you do then, by all means, have at it. You'll be delighted by the restaurants on this island. 

Wrong Island, 2009

We took the ferry back to Istanbul and spent some time wandering around Taksim Square. Exhausted, we headed back to the hotel to drop some things off and rest a bit before deciding that what we really needed was some chocolate. So we attempted to leave the hotel. The two of us shuffled into the tiny elevator and hit the button for the lobby. 4th floor, 3rd floor, 2nd floor, 1st floor, lobby. Push elevator door. Nothing happens. Giggle nervously. Push door again. Definitely stuck. Panic. Begin banging on the door, shouting, and crying for my mom...or Keanu Reeves (see opening scene of Speed). 

And then for some reason we began laughing (I can only blame the lack of oxygen). Because who gets stuck in an elevator? In Istanbul. In summer. With no whiskey water. After a few minutes a member of the hotel staff came running over and knocked on the elevator door (which was very polite of him and we would have opened it if possible). The ensuing conversation went something like this: 

Hotel staff member: Excuse me? Excuse me, ladies? Are you still there? 

Us: (Inner monologue: Um. Yes? Is there another way out?)  Yes, we're still here. How much longer? 

Hotel staff member: 5 minutes. 

Us: It's really, really hot in here. Could you please hurry? 

Hotel staff member: Ok, ok! Two minutes! 

Us: Do you have any whiskey?

Hotel staff member: silence. 

We kept laughing. In fact we tried to take a video, but now when I watch it, it's just a very blurry, shaky image with two girls laughing hysterically. I'll spare you that spectacle. I don't have much dignity left, but I'd like to retain it. I might need it later. 

So we slumped to the floor and waited. And waited. And....

...finally the door opened! We ran out expecting an apologetic manager/mayor/president/world leader/the local media at least and free everything for the rest of our lives, but...strangely everyone just went back to work. So we had some Turkish coffee and chocolate cake and called it a night. 

mmm, Turkish coffee, Istanbul, 2009

We left the next morning for Marmaris. We had spent 4 days wandering around Istanbul and we were absolutely exhausted and needed a few days on a beach doing nothing. If you're in Turkey and you spend more than 2 days wandering around Istanbul and you decide that you need a vacation from your vacation, Marmaris is a good place to go. 

Marmaris, 2009

But it belongs to that category of places that are designed for tourists and are overrun by tourists. Don't get me wrong. We had a great time there. The hotel was lovely, the beaches were perfect, the pools are fantastic, and the food was great. So is the nightlife. But if you're looking for Turks....you won't find them here. 

Of course, if none of that is really your thing...there is always this option. 

Thanks, but..., Istanbul, 2009

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