At Egypt's step-pyramid, vendors wait for tourists

On the road to Egypt's Djoser step pyramid at Saqqara there was not a trace of a tourist anywhere, and a handful of trinket and souvenir salesmen sat on a metal railing hoping for a lucky break.

The uprising that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 dealt a serious blow to Egypt's vital tourism sector, and a year on, visitors have been slow to return to this key archaeological site south of Cairo.

"After January 25, tourism stopped. There's no more work," lamented Saad Darwish, who sported around a dozen of the baseball caps he had for sale, one atop another, on his head.

In ordinary times, around 1,000 tourists a day would be flocking to Saqqara, one of the oldest and richest of Egypt's many archeological sites.

But these days the numbers range from a handful to about 200, according to vendors here.

Darwish, the father of five children between the ages of four and 21, estimated he needs to earn "100 pounds minimum" each day—around $16—to keep his family afloat.

"At the moment, I don't earn more than five, 10, 20 pounds a day. I don't always have money to buy food. I go to the shop and they let me buy on credit. When I have a little money, I pay them back," he said.

Adel Abdel Hadi, stood waiting for tourists in his grey galabeya—the traditional Egyptian robe—his head wrapped in a red scarf. He and his donkey once took tourists across this vast site, but since the uprising, there have been few takers.

Pointing towards his animal, he said sadly: "If I eat, he eats, if I don't eat, neither does he."

The vendors said whatever meals they do get are made up of bread and the ubiquitous Egyptian bean dish known as ful. Meat, once a regular part of their diet, was no longer an option.