A great bazaar in a maze of narrow alleys where people have lived, worked and traded since the 14th century. Get past the garish belly dancing outfits and plastic pyramids and you find tiny streets filled with gold jewellery, spices, exotic perfumes, rugs, inlaid wood boxes, hand-blown glass, copper and brassware, fabrics, clothes and groceries. Whatever you buy, hard bargaining is essential. When you need a break, there are many juice stalls, cafés and restaurants within the labyrinth.
Near the main entrance to the Khan on Midan Hussein – across from the Mosque of Sayyidna al-Hussein, one of the most sacred sites in Egypt, which non-Muslims may not enter – Fishawis is an atmospheric tea and coffee house where you can sit over a karkadi (refreshing hibiscus tea) and a sheesha (water pipe) and watch the world pass by. It is open 24 hours a day – and has been, ‘tis said, for the past 200 years.
Open daily 7am-7pm, some sections until 10pm. Many stalls close for at least part of the day on Fridays or Sundays.
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