Shopkeepers

The old city has thousands of tiny shops selling everything from souvenirs to spices. There doesn’t seem to be a central location for those who are souvenir shopping, and locals and tourists mix easily in the streets (dodging cars that seem to be weaving through what should be pedestrian walkways). The shopkeepers seem in no hurry to sell anything. No hard sell here. In fact, several times shopkeepers have left their small stores to show us around. When we do stop to look, it’s as if they are more interested in talking than selling—a really pleasant experience.



We pass one shop close to our hotel and the owner stepped out to greet us in perfect, Brooklyn-tinted English. He explained he had lived in New York for many years but decided to return to Damascus to run his family’s business. Instead of trying to sell us something, he wanted to know why we were here. He suggested places for us to visit and even invited us back to his house for dinner. I can’t imagine the owner of the Gap in one of our malls doing that. Maybe we need to bring some of these folks back with us and open a customer-service training program.



Jill plans to do some serious shopping this weekend, but for her, this is like dropping a kid in the middle of Disney World and saying have fun. I’m afraid she will overload with all the choices. Her one big purchase—a scarf—took almost 15 minutes. The shopkeeper wanted to show her everything in the store, and when he found out she was here to teach, immediately cut the price in half. So much for haggling.