Money troubles and bad pun
I am finding the money here more complicated than I expected.
Egypt has pounds and piastres. One US dollar translates into 5.7 pounds, so the punds are not large units. One pound notes are brown and usually very grubby and handled - they are a common 'backsheesh' unit.
My problem is that piastre notes are the same size and look about the same as punds - especially the 25 pound and fifty pound notes.
Piastres are very small units indeed - and it is hard to imagine that it is worth printing the five piastre note. These are much smaller than the others, but there are a lot of new ones around as they are crisp and in mint condition at the moment. Each is worth about one cent Australian.
I almost gave a taxi driver a fifty pound tip the other day - for a three pound fare.
He would have been a very happy man!!!
In the mosque at the weekend (and I must find out its name and write it down) there were a couple of gentlemen whose main task was to bag your feet. I am not kidding. They had clean cream bags made of a fabric like artist's canvas with a slit opening at the top and a thick soft drawstring cord. You had to go to them, place your foot on a square cloth in the opening of the bag, and they would pull it quickly over your shoe and tie it in front.
I was unhappy about the servile nature of their work and really hated this process - I would have preferred to take off my shoes and go barefoot - but this was obviously what people to do - and I am a great believer in 'when in Rome.....".
I tried to find the requisite pound and found myself fumbling with a sizeable roll of piastres in various denominations. I think they breed in my bag. I accidentally offered him some of these - and obviously not enough from the disgusted comments.
If you are ready for the bad pun of the wek - I have decided that this reaction is called piastre resistence.
Egypt has pounds and piastres. One US dollar translates into 5.7 pounds, so the punds are not large units. One pound notes are brown and usually very grubby and handled - they are a common 'backsheesh' unit.
My problem is that piastre notes are the same size and look about the same as punds - especially the 25 pound and fifty pound notes.
Piastres are very small units indeed - and it is hard to imagine that it is worth printing the five piastre note. These are much smaller than the others, but there are a lot of new ones around as they are crisp and in mint condition at the moment. Each is worth about one cent Australian.
I almost gave a taxi driver a fifty pound tip the other day - for a three pound fare.
He would have been a very happy man!!!
In the mosque at the weekend (and I must find out its name and write it down) there were a couple of gentlemen whose main task was to bag your feet. I am not kidding. They had clean cream bags made of a fabric like artist's canvas with a slit opening at the top and a thick soft drawstring cord. You had to go to them, place your foot on a square cloth in the opening of the bag, and they would pull it quickly over your shoe and tie it in front.
I was unhappy about the servile nature of their work and really hated this process - I would have preferred to take off my shoes and go barefoot - but this was obviously what people to do - and I am a great believer in 'when in Rome.....".
I tried to find the requisite pound and found myself fumbling with a sizeable roll of piastres in various denominations. I think they breed in my bag. I accidentally offered him some of these - and obviously not enough from the disgusted comments.
If you are ready for the bad pun of the wek - I have decided that this reaction is called piastre resistence.
2 Comments:
Jenny, I just love your bad pun. too bad I can't find some way to use it myself.
--Maggie
Jenny, I feel like I've just spent some time time in Cairo myself. I keep kicking myself for forgetting to go 'blogging' regularly and read both yours and Pam H's instalments. We almost need a 'blog' alarm. The faces say it all - it's so interestign looking at people, isn't it?
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