We recently traveled around Egypt and were scammed, pickpocketed, robbed and generally cheated in large and small ways by everyone we encountered. But the best scam of all, which took me for several hundred dollars, was at an "Alabaster" shop in Luxor.

I had mentioned to my guide the day before that I was interested in obtaining a souvenir... having seen the beautiful basalt vases and other stone works in the Egyptian museum, I wanted a copy of one. We were taken to a souvenir shop on the way back from seeing the Valley of the Kings (which is absolutely superb, one of the wonders of the world in my opinion).

At the entrance to the shop, three men were demonstrating how they worked the alabaster stone with steel tools ... I think I have a picture with them holding some rocks.

Inside, there was a large room full of all sorts of carved stone objects. Most of them were clearly mass produced as the features and engravings were all identical on each piece. No real "craftsman" can produce completely identical parts. Other items were imported from Pakistan, or made from glued-together onyx pieces. They served us tea and soft drinks (this is the first sign you are being overcharged).

The salesman, "Ali," who spoke excellent English, started out by showing us the "quality" of his merchandise. He showed us a piece "made from cement, with black paint" and scraped off some paint to demonstrate. Next he showed us a "real basalt" item, where the black color couldn't be scraped off. Interesting, I thought.

We toured the shop, and I didn't see anything I liked. He says "I also have some very nice older pieces in the back room." Naturally, I am curious. The back room was FULL of very elaborate art objects -- vases, paintings on limestone, all sorts of nice looking stuff. "This one is painted on limestone" he said ... "This is a basalt vase that is 30 years old" about another piece. A large basalt vase, weighing about 50 lbs caught my eye. I said "how much for this one." He said, "what is it worth to you?" I demurred... "I have no idea." He says "normally this would be $3,500 US, but due to the recession, I can sell it for $2,000." "I'll have to consider that. It's a lot of money."

Now here is the point at which Westerners go wrong. If you see something for $2,000 you might think, well, 50% off would be a decent price. But in Egypt, the real price is more like 95% off or even less. Offering $50 just seems insulting.

So we get back to discussing the piece. What's it made of I ask? "It is Black Basalt, a very hard stone mined in the desert." "Was it hand made?" "Yes" "Can I carry this in my suitcase" "Of course, we will pack it for you"

I inspect the piece... and it is really quite beautifully engraved. He explains the carvings, etc. etc. I scrape my finger on it, to make sure it is in fact basalt and not just cement, as he had shown us when we got to the store. Seems to pass the test -- no paint.

Finally we settle on a reasonable price of about $600. Days later, we get home, with my prized souvenir in a suitcase. It arrives intact, just as promised. I set it up on the living room coffee table, fill it with water, and put in a large bouquet of flowers. The next day, the flowers are dead. "That's odd, I think to myself"

I replace the flowers... and sure enough, a day later, the new flowers are also dead. So now I am really starting to wonder what's going on with the flowers from the grocery store! I pour out the water, and I notice a slight tinge to it. I wipe the inside with a tissue, and it comes out stained purple-black!!

The vase was in fact made of cement, stained black with ink as opposed to painted... he had set us up for this scam from the minute we walked into the store! In the end, I have to hand it to "Ali" for taking us to the cleaners like only a true professional con artist could. My hat is off to you, sir.