Dave wrote:
And so you just paid whatever they were asking at the souk, right?

Surely you jest.

Nope. And don't call me Shirley!

As a matter of fact, on several occasions when buying gold jewelry in
the souk, I not only brought my own newspaper with the day's gold
price quotes but also my own calibration weights. Didn't raise any
tempers at all, as you might expect... instead several merchants
requested that I come in and check their scales... offered me coffee
(which one should be wary of) as a gesture of approval.

In short, I was impressed with their honesty.... that said, I would
not have wanted to trust my life to their generosity... at least not
towards an infidel....

DSK