![\"Souq@Sana'a\"](\"http:\/\/diaryofthedesert.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/07\/souqsanaa.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n“Salaam,” I answer.\u00a0 Then I point to the laundry rack in question and say, in Arabic, “How much is this one?”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“Ah,” the old man says, gravely, still doggedly in English.\u00a0 “This one is very good quality.\u00a0 Italian-made.\u00a0 Fifteen dinar.”<\/p>\n
Having budgeted about ten, I take a deep breath and say, with my best attempt at incredulity: “Fifteen dinar?”<\/p>\n
“Yes.\u00a0 But this one –” Here the old man brightens significantly and pats a nearby ironing board. “This one is only ten dinar!\u00a0 Jordanian.\u00a0 But still very good quality.”<\/p>\n
I shake my head.\u00a0 No, I do not want the ironing board.\u00a0 Is he sure the drying rack is fifteen?<\/p>\n
“Yes, Italian, excellent quality metal. \u00a0Absolutely no less than twelve dinar.\u00a0 But look, this ironing board, equally excellent metal.\u00a0 Only eight dinar!\u00a0 Such a good deal!”\u00a0 He positively beams with glee, stroking the ironing board’s shrink wrap.<\/p>\n
Confused, I try again.\u00a0 I am not interested in the ironing board, I try to convey.\u00a0 I simply want to know how much he will take for the drying rack. Fifteen seems a bit much, but —<\/p>\n
“No, of course, it’s slightly more expensive.\u00a0 I have to ask ten for it, because it’s Italian, you see.\u00a0 But this one!”\u00a0 Again with the ironing board. \u00a0“Jordanian, but such excellent quality!\u00a0 And only six dinar!\u00a0 Really a better deal than the Italian one!”<\/p>\n
I am startled.\u00a0 With no effort whatsoever on my part, the old man has haggled himself down to the price I was prepared to pay.\u00a0 And from all appearances I’m about ten seconds away from getting a free ironing board thrown into the deal!\u00a0 I indicate that I really do prefer the Italian drying rack, as lovely as the Jordanian ironing board may be.\u00a0 “So, ten dinar for the rack?” I ask, more or less rhetorically, as I reach for a ten-dinar bill.<\/p>\n
A look of puzzlement shades the old man’s face. \u00a0“No, no,” he says.\u00a0 “That one, it’s Italian, so it’s very beautiful, but it’s eight dinar.\u00a0 This one — just look! — just as beautiful.\u00a0 And Jordanian! \u00a0And only four dinar!”\u00a0 He practically hugs the ironing board in his enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
I do my best to deal with the situation with appropriate gravity.\u00a0 I’m really sorry, I say.\u00a0 The ironing board is, indeed, one of the finest specimens of workmanship I’ve seen in a long while.\u00a0 But, in the end, I’m a crazy American and I really would just prefer the Italian drying rack.<\/p>\n
The old man sighs, and gives the ironing board one last loving pat before he counts out my change.\u00a0 He drags my new drying rack away from the wall and shrugs, as if to say there’s no accounting for taste!\u00a0 Then he gives us a dignified nod, and resumes his spot on his stool, watching the world go by.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am not a haggler. I’ve been lectured by traveling companions, so I know all the arguments:\u00a0 they expect it, the prices are deliberately inflated, if you don’t do it the next tourist will get even more ripped off.\u00a0 I know, I know — but I still get terrible fluttery feelings in my stomach when … <\/p>\n