Top 15 Tips For Shopping In The Middle East

Advice from Nil Aykut.

1) First rule: Always bargain at the bazaars and Souks. Salesmen in carpet, jewelery and leather shops work on commission basis; so never accept the first or second offer. Sometimes you can even get up to 70% discount over the original price.

2) Try to judge the price by how much you would be willing to pay for it in your home country. Fix the price in your mind and stick to it. On the other hand, always keep in your mind the value of the local money. Try to think in the local currency; most items might sound cheap when converted to USD but might be very expensive for local people. So purchase like a local.

3) Most salesmen understand many languages, so do not discuss anything in front of them.

4) Use power of ‘No thank you!’: At least learn this phrase in the local language and use it when you are hassled. Smile and walk away.

5) Keep your own currency and credit cards out of sight. It is easier to haggle over a price with your ‘limited’ local currency.

6) Guides get commission over your purchases. If you are not satisfied with the price, try to come back on your free day and check the similar item at the other shops. So another golden rule: Have a free day for shopping!

7) The top touristy places such as Khan El-Khalili usually visited in Cairo tours or Grand Bazaar in Istanbul will have the most expensive prices. Find out the residential shopping areas for better bargains.

8) For items where quality is important try to find a fixed price shop. You may pay little more but the quality will be superior.

9) Haggling is necessary if you are buying high value items, such as gold and jewelery, but with low value goods it is not always worthwhile the time and effort.

10) Shops in Middle East prefer cash. If you pay with cash rather than a credit card, you should have more power for getting a good discount.

11) Always shop around. Never buy at the first shop; you can always come back. Shopkeepers will try to persuade you that they offer you the best value, but will not be offended when you say you want to look around and would come back.

12) When buying gold/silver bargain on the price per gram not the price per item.

13) Usually little grocery shops, coffee shops, supermarket chains will have fixed prices and bargaining is not accepted.

14) Shopkeepers will show great hospitality. They will tell that purchase is not necessary, they will invite you to their shop, offer you tea, coffee; at the end you’ll feel so ashamed to walk away without buying anything. Don’t fall into this trap.

15) If you are buying more than one item or shopping with a group, you can haggle for a greater discount.



About the Author

Nil Aykut is the Marketing Manager of Anatolia Tours & Travel Co. Anatolia Travels offer private and escorted tours to Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan & Greece. More information at http://www.anatoliatravels.com

Banks and where to Manage your Finances in Bahrain

There’s no shortage of banks in the cities, towns and villages of the Bahrain. There are international, regional and local banks, all well financed, well regulated and well run. Although there have been one or two notorious banking scandals in the region, notably the closure of BICC bank, banks are generally solid and well supported, and both the regulation and finance exist to forestall major incidents in the future.

Banks fall into a number of categories. Some central banks operate as clearing banks as well as being the regulatory institution. There are also corporate or merchant banks, providing venture and investment capital for institutional investors. Investment banks extend their services to individual investors, notably ‘high net worth individuals’ interested in portfolio management. Finally, there are retail or ‘high street’ banks for the masses. There are no savings and loan banks or mutual building societies operating as banks in the region. The services offered in other countries by these organisations are undertaken by the ‘normal’ banks in Bahrain.

An interesting aspect of Middle Eastern banking that you’re unlikely to involve yourself with (unless you’re a Muslim) is Islamic banking. The teachings of Islam ban interest or usury, and Islamic banking involves the centralisation of funds within a bank. These resources are then used, for example, to fund a construction project or other type of investment, which in turn produces returns, which are then shared out in proportion to input.

As a working expatriate, you’re likely to open a standard current or deposit account with one of the many international banks found throughout the region. Banks such as Standard Chartered, Citibank, British Bank of the Middle East and others provide a reasonable service, bank charges are quite low and loan terms are competitive. (Banks are keen to attract customers and therefore eager to issue loans.) Banking in Bahrain has now become highly automated compares favourably with banking in other advanced countries.

Some banks offer drive-in services, although doing business quickly is unnatural to the temperament of the region. Others provide mobile banking facilities for outlying villages and remote areas. Large industrial complexes often have banks on site for the convenience of their workers and this is also the case with some civil service organisations such as police training centres.

If you have a complaint against a bank and cannot resolve it through the bank’s senior administration, the next course of action is to appeal to the Chamber of Commerce for advice, or perhaps the regulatory Central Bank; the civil court is your last recourse, but this is rarely necessary.
Opening Hours

There are variations in bank opening hours throughout the region. In general, banks are open from 8am to 1pm, Saturdays to Wednesdays, when many banks re-open in the afternoon from 4.30 to 6.30pm. On Thursdays, opening hours are usually 8am to noon, and banks (like other businesses) are closed on Fridays. Companies dealing in foreign exchange and money transfers usually work later in the evening, particularly those located in shopping malls and main shopping thoroughfares.

At major international airports, bank facilities are usually open 24 hours. Public holidays are observed by banks, which conform to the holiday periods set by the governing administrations for private sector companies.

The Variety of Arabic Dialects

An article by Jacob Lumbroso


Arabic is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. The geographical reach of Arabic is connected to the Arabic conquests beginning in the 8th century CE. Modern Arabic has a variety of sub dialects and these various Arabic dialects are spoken throughout the Arab world. Standard Arabic is widely studied and known throughout the Islamic world.

The Arabic language has lent a number of words to languages spoken in Islamic countries or in those in which Islamic Caliphates once ruled (e.g. Spain). The Arabic language has also been the recipient of similar influences and has also borrowed words from other languages including Persian and Sanskrit.

In the Middle Ages, Arabic was the vehicle of culture, science, mathematics, poetry and philosophy. As a consequence many European languages such as Spanish and Portuguese have also borrowed numerous words from it. Even Sephardic Jewish communities of the medieval period living in Spain and throughout North Africa and in the present day Middle East spoke and wrote in Arabic.

As far as the term "Arabic" is concerned, it may refer to either literary Arabic or the localized varieties of Arabic often referred to as "colloquial Arabic."Literary written Arabic is generally regarded as the standard Arabic language. All other "Arabics" are viewed as mere dialects.

Literary Arabic generally refers to the language used in communication media across North Africa and the Middle East. It also refers to the language of the Q'uran. In contrast, "colloquial" Arabic refers to the regional varieties derived from Classical Arabic, which constitute the Arabic language as spoken in everyday settings.

Arabic dialects sometimes differ sufficiently to be mutually incomprehensible to each other, especially in pronunciation. These dialects are generally unwritten, although a certain amount of literature exists in many of them. Literary Arabic or classical Arabic is the official language of all Arab countries and is the only form of Arabic taught in schools at all stages.

When educated Arabs of different nationalities engage in conversation Literary Arabic may be used for communication sake.

Classical Arabic can be distinguished from Modern Standard Arabic. Classical Arabic is considered normative; modern authors attempt to follow the grammatical norms established by classical grammarians, and to use the vocabulary defined in Classical dictionaries.

The influence of Arabic has been most profound in Islamic countries. Arabic is a major source of vocabulary for Berber, Kurdish, Persian, Swahili, Urdu, Turkish, Malay Indonesian, and even Hindi in its colloquial variety

The major dialectical variations are as follows: Egyptian Arabic, Maghrebi Arabic (Algerian Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Tunisian Arabic, Maltese and western Libyan Arabic), Levantine Arabic (Western Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, western Jordanian and Cypriot Maronite Arabic),Iraqi Arabic (and Khuzestani Arabic) ,East Arabian Arabic (Eastern Saudi Arabia, Western Iraq, Eastern Syrian, Jordanian and parts of Oman), Gulf Arabic (Bahrain, Saudi Eastern Province, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Oman) Hassānīya (in Mauritania, Mali and western Sahara), Sudanese Arabic, Hijazi Arabic (western Saudi Arabia), Najdi Arabic (Najd region of central Saudi Arabia),and Yemeni Arabic (Yemen to southern Saudi Arabia).



About the Author

Jacob Lumbroso is a world traveler. He writes articles on history and languages for http://www.ultimatelanguagestore.com and has used Pimsleur courses to learn various languages.