Lotus Papyrus Luxor — Attraction in Luxor

I can not fully express my gratitude to the owner/artist! We saw his work and people’s reviews on Google and really wanted to buy these exceptional bookmarks as gifts for friends and families. The shop was unfortunately closed however when we visited so I contacted the owner through WhatsApp. It turned out that he was on a family vacation at Hurghada and won’t be back until after my friend and I have left Luxor. Hearing the desperation (?) in my messages perhaps, he graciously cut his vacation short just so he can come back and open the shop for us in time so we can visit before hurrying off to the airport. He quite literally took the 4 hour bus back from Hurghada, opened the shop (we were already waiting outside with our luggage’s!), didn’t even have time to take a sip of water and started working on the bookmarks. (He actually already wrote down the names that we sent over WhatsApp on a piece of white paper the night before to hasten the process on the day of). Even before we were finished, there were already two other groups of tourists that have entered the shop, attesting to his reputation in the city.

Now to the actual work, it feels especially intimate to see a great artist at work, drawing each hieroglyphic stroke by stroke, putting his heart into it and feeling proud of his work. Apart from the bookmarks, his other works in the shops are all very beautiful as well.

Lastly, as a tourist it can seem like the travelling in Egypt is sometimes quite tiring, what with all the bargaining and constant lookout for potential frauds. With this shop, we didn’t have to worry about it - the price is fair, transparent, and totally worth it. In fact, during our short stay at the shop, a “middle-man” called him and asked if he can get a commission if he brought tourists there, which he found absurd, unnecessary, and unjust on behalf of us travellers. He specifically calls out to all travellers to just visit the shop without a middle-man so we are not swindled.

Overall, we feel very lucky to have met an artist/shop owner with integrity who is compassionate and kind. While we feel bad for interrupting his family trip, we feel very grateful to be able to bring these special gifts from Luxor back to our friends and share the stories of kind people in Egypt. 🥰

Ps. There is another papyrus shop with the same name next to the McDonald’s next to Luxor temple - that is not his shop. His shop is slightly down the road after turning a...

Very rude and unprofessional. I ordered 13 papyrus bookmarks with handwritten names and waited an hour outside, as he told me they would be ready. When we came back, 7 out of 13 had mistakes (wrong hieroglyphs, missing letters, etc.). When I pointed this out, he didn’t apologize and he just tried to fix them carelessly. Most of them were supposed to have the same design for my group, but the results were inconsistent.

Then, when I said I couldn’t accept the mistaken ones (he said I can leave the ones I don't like), he suddenly yelled and threw them on the floor in front of other customers, including my father and me. I asked for a refund on the rest since they were meant as gifts, but he yelled again and threw those into the air as well. It was honestly shocking to experience this as my very first impression in Luxor.

He kept saying he “doesn’t want money because he’s old,” but in reality, he was trying to squeeze out as much as possible. I even saw someone outside luring a tourist into the shop and charging him more than double for papyrus.

There are definitely better papyrus shops in Luxor. I strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a...

If you are looking to buy papyrus, then you come to this place. Mohsen is the warmest, most genuine person I have met in Egypt and his love for art is clear. I overpaid at another shop in Luxor, returned it and bought as much as I could from Lotus. Last night I spent 1-2 hours sitting down in the workshop and talking to Mohsen about family, art and Egypt. He explained to me all his pieces, showed me the techniques and colours he uses and answered all the questions I had without hesitation. When it came to the final price I did not try to haggle, he already saved me so much money (by telling me I overpaid for the previous one I bought), he gives fair and honest prices. Even if you are unsure about buying Papyrus, just go and visit Lotus Papyrus and meet this wonderful man. Thanks for...