The hassle.

That’s what the locals call it.  That’s what everyone calls it.  The Egyptian Hassle, the Luxor Hassle, the just plain old Hassle.

They call it that for a good reason.  No matter what you do in Luxor, you’re a target.  They can spot you coming from a mile away.  They know you’re a tourist, and they’re out to sell you something.

How can you avoid the Luxor Hassle?  Well, do you want the short answer or the long one?  I’m assuming you’re here for the long one, because the short answer is…

You can’t.

“My friend, my friend!”

You’ll never have more friends than you’ll have in Luxor.  With every block, you’ll meet more friends.  They’ll call out to you.  They’ll follow you.  One cab driver even stopped in the middle of the street and got out, just to walk alongside of me.

You see that carriage in the lower right of the picture?  That’s called a “caleche,” and the guy sees you coming.  He wants to give you a ride! 

“Hey, check out my Ferrari,” he’ll call out.  Which is kind of a funny line, until you’ve heard it a dozen times.

Cab rides.  Carriage rides.  Boat rides.  Hot air balloon rides.  If it exists, someone on the streets of Luxor wants to sell it.  And let me tell you, they are persistent.  We wouldn’t call it the Luxor Hassle if they weren’t, right?

Showing interest makes you a target for the Luxor Hassle

See that guy?  He’s not just relaxing.  He’s waiting for his prey.  He’s waiting for you.  A common term for people like him are “touts,” and he’s very skilled at what he does.

No matter what you look like, the touts know you’re a tourist.   You can try to look as unassuming as you want, but they know.  Picking tourists out of a crowd is their job.

So what’s going to happen?  Well, he’s going to talk to you.  He’ll call you “my friend,” and he’ll try to engage you in small talk.  He’ll welcome you to Egypt, he’ll ask you where you’re from, he’ll ask what you think of his country.

Unless you’re willing to put up with him following you, do not respond.

I know, I know…it feels rude.  And as much as I tell people to try to chat with the locals and involve themselves in the culture as much as possible, you don’t want to talk with those who approach you on the street.

Just keep walking, and they’ll eventually give up.  They’re looking for the people who give them an “in.”  If you start chatting — even if you tell him you won’t be buying anything — he’ll think he can charm you into changing your mind.  This is the way the Luxor Hassle works.

Here’s a small story for you…while walking along the same street you see in this picture, I saw a local guy following someone with a thick British accent.

“I told you, I’ve already done it!  I went in a balloon, and I don’t want to do it again!”  The frustration was bubbling out of him, and I laughed.

Less than a minute later, the guy was now following me, asking why I was laughing. I guess that makes me the butt of the joke — I gave him an “in.”

Frustration is a state of mind

Don’t be like him.  Don’t be like the angry British guy.  If you let the Luxor Hassle ruin your trip, it will ruin your trip.

The picture I posted above is from the Tomb of Nefertari, on the West Bank across from Luxor.  It is truly the most special and spectacular place I’ve had the pleasure to visit.  Not just in Egypt, but anywhere.

When you’re blessed to see sights like this, you don’t want to be thinking about the guy who followed you for two blocks that morning.

This sounds like silly advice, right?  I don’t know, maybe it is — but it’s what worked for me.  Go into Luxor knowing you’ll be a target.  Know you’ll be hassled.  Look at it as part of the experience, and try to have fun with it.

And above all else, understand that people who are just trying to sell you things aren’t automatically dangerous.

Someone following you around can make you feel uneasy, but keep in mind that these people are just trying to make a living.  While tourism had started to rebound before 2020, it’s still way down from its high points in Egypt.  People are trying their best to make a buck.

As a side note, the Luxor Hassle is worst in Luxor (go figure, right?).  But you’ll also find it in Cairo — and to a lesser extent, in Aswan and other spots.

Yes, there are scams

See that guy in the picture?  He scammed me.  Well…kind of.

He told me he had a cab on the West Bank, which is exactly what I was looking for.  And just to be fair, the cab was there and I ended up paying the price we’d agreed upon.

But it wasn’t his cab.  It was his brother’s.

Halfway through the day, the dude relaxing on the boat in the picture was gone.  The cab driver said they weren’t brothers at all.  In fact, it turns out they don’t even like each other. 

This guy just rounds up tourists and brings them across the river, getting a cut of the price.  The cab driver said the other guy had left, and would be back later to collect his money.

The driver gave me his card and said to just arrange things through him, instead of paying someone else.  I ended up doing just that, which did result in an awkward conversation where I ran into him on the street and had to pretend I wasn’t going to the West Bank.

Now did I get scammed?  I’ll leave that up to you, but it’s worth telling the story just to get across the idea that some people may be…let’s say…stretching the truth.

Here are some common scams to look out for:

• Anyone on the street who claims to work at your hotel probably doesn’t actually work at your hotel.  Saying they recognize you is a common way of engaging you in conversation.
• If someone on the street tells you something is closed, it’s probably not.  They’ll say the guards are taking a break for prayers, or something along those lines.  They just want you to follow them to a store, where they’ll get a cut from the owner for bringing you there.
• Be specific about what you’re negotiating for.  Everything I said about negotiating for a camel at the Pyramids holds true here — make sure you are clear that you’ll be paying in Egyptian Pounds, that you’re paying for the carriage ride itself and not per person, and so on.
• Don’t follow anyone off the beaten path.  Like I keep saying, being hassled rarely presents any physical danger, but you also need to use some common sense.  If someone wants to take you to some sort of “special entrance,” just ignore them.

The hidden Luxor Hassle

Perfume, papyrus, and alabaster: Oh my!

You get into a cab.  Or maybe you hop in a car with a tour guide.  Will they take you where you want to go?  Of course.  But almost inevitably, they’ll suggest going somewhere else.  Maybe an alabaster shop: “It’s so authentic,” they’ll say.

Perhaps you should stop at a “papyrus museum”?  They have real demonstrations!  You can see how the Ancient Egyptians made their writing material!

While these don’t really meet my definition of “scams,” there are some things you should be aware of: Most notably, your tour guide or cab driver will be getting a commission for taking you there.

Aside from that, these places tend to be very overpriced, and don’t quite live up to their names.  The “papyrus museum” isn’t really a museum at all — it’s a shop. 

Yes, they’ll do a demonstration for you.  And yes, you can buy papyrus art that’s most likely made locally.  But you will pay a lot for it.  Many tourists have walked out holding a framed piece of art they spent $300 on. 

Maybe you’re fine with that, but you’re not really getting a great deal.

The same holds true for the alabaster shops that dot the landscape on the West Bank of Luxor.  They’ll put on a little show outside, demonstrating how they carve the objects — but they’re only doing that because your driver told them you’re coming.  Go by at any other part of the day, and chances are no one is working.

Just to be fair here, these shops do have a lot of things you can’t really find at the markets in town.  But you will pay a premium.  They’ll often take credit cards (which can be nice), and while some are “fixed price,” others aren’t. 

They’ll set aside everything you like, and when you’re done you’ll have to negotiate for the lot.

Is it a scam?  Is it part of the Luxor Hassle?  Not really — but it’s not completely honest, either.

Note: Everything I say here is my own personal opinion, and may not work best for everyone. I’m far from an expert, so please just do whatever is best for you, and be sure to visit the TripAdvisor Forums to ask questions and do some more research!