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Shopping in Cairo offers varied experiences well beyond
department stores and malls. Of course, you can find
these as well, but Cairo's sprawling markets are a feast
of sights, sounds and shopping opportunities.
The
seminal Cairo shopping experience is a day in the Khan
el-Khalili bazaar, a warren of winding streets and twisting
alleyways with an amazing number of shops, stalls and
carts.
You could easily spend a day (preferably two half days)
taking it all in. There are wonderful brass ornaments
and light fixtures for sale, as well as some of the
loveliest mosaics you'll find anywhere.
The
perfume shops are particularly memorable; suffused with
spice and floral scents and decorated with plush Oriental
carpets and beautiful crystal chandeliers, they're run
by clerks who can mix any fragrance you desire. Be prepared
to bargain shamelessly.
Traditional
malls and shopping areas will net local upholstery fabrics,
bed linens, leather jackets, shoes and handbags. Stylish
Egyptian fashions to shop for are Mobaco for cottonwear,
Mix and Match, Marie Louis, BTM, Concrete and Safari.
These
brands are sold in boutiques bearing the manufacturers'
names. Be aware that it's against the law to buy or
sell any antiques (even non-Egyptian ones) older than
100 years. Anything appearing remotely old must have
proper documentation certifying its age before you can
take it out of the country.
Also,
all duty-free goods must be purchased within 24 hours
of arrival. Because liquor in bottles is not sold anywhere
outside of the duty-free stores, anyone wanting to have
alcohol (aside from that served in restaurants and bars)
should buy it at the airport upon arrival.
SHOPPING
HOURS
Most shops and boutiques are open 10 am-9 pm in
winter, to 10 PM in summer, although large stores close
for a long afternoon break (3-5 PM) throughout the year.
Friday is the holy day, but the majority of retail stores
close on Sunday, not on Friday. During Ramadan, the
Islamic holy month, hours for offices and business are
often shortened during the day and extended at night.
BOOKSTORES
American University in Cairo Bookstore-The
campus bookstore has a comprehensive array of popular
and scholarly material, almost all in English.
A wide variety of books about Egypt, published by the
American University in Cairo, are only available in
Cairo. Sunday-Thursday 8:30 am-4 PM, Saturday 10 am-3
PM 113 Kasr el-Aini St. (downtown, on the AUC campus
near Tahrir Square). Phone 357-5377. Anglo-Egyptian
Bookshop-Books are piled to the ceiling in this shop.
The owner can also help locate Middle Eastern reference
material.
Monday-Saturday
9 am-1:30 PM and 4:30-8 PM 165 Mohamad Farid St. (downtown).
Phone 391-4337. Lehnert and Landrock-A long-established
publisher and retailer with a good collection of books
and old photographs of North Africa. Monday-Friday 9:30
am-2 PM and 3:30-7 PM, Saturday 9:30 am-1:30 PM 44 Sharif
St. (downtown). Phone 393-5324.
Volume One-A great source for local and international
magazines as well as travel guides, foreign-language
reference books, children's books and fiction. Daily
9 am-10:30 PM Two branches. 17 Road 216/206 (Maadi).
Phone 519-6757. 3 Abd el-Halim Hussein St. (Mohandiseen).
Phone 338-0168.
 
GALLERIES
Atelier du Caire-Daily 10 am-1 PM and 5-11
PM 2 Karim el-Dawla St. (downtown). Phone 574-6730.
Cairo Opera House Art Gallery-Works by artists from
Egypt and abroad. Sunday-Thursday 9 am-9 PM Gezira Island
(in the National Cultural Center). Phone 339-8131. Mashrabia-Daily
11 am-8 PM 8 Champollion St. (downtown). Phone 578-4494.
Townhouse
Gallery of Contemporary Art-This relative newcomer has
been extremely popular for its frequently changing and
diverse exhibits by local artists. Friday-Wednesday
10 am-2 PM and 6-9 PM Hussein Pasha Street (downtown,
off Mahmoud Bassiouni). Phone 575-5901.
MALLS AND SHOPPING
AREAS
Arkadia-A large, new mall with an upscale mix
of local textile, jewelry and clothing stores.
Also a Habitat home furnishings store. Corniche el-Nil
(Maspero, near the World Trade Center). Downtown-Concentrate
on Kasr el-Nil and Talaat Harb Streets. There you'll
find all sorts of shops and boutiques selling locally
made shoes and clothing.
You'll also find bookstores, jewelry stores and kiosks
selling local music tapes and other trinkets. For fine
jewelry, go to Khaled Sarwat Street, chockablock with
locally renowned jewelers.
First
Mall-Very elegant mall, with lots of jewelry shops,
a good bookstore and stores for lingerie and bedding.
There's also a nice cafe in the central atrium. In the
Four Seasons hotel complex, Giza Street. (Dokki).
MARKETS
Vast open-air markets, called souks in Arabic, feature
everything from spices and exotic foods to fragrances,
fabrics, rugs and ceramics.
Some shops maintain fixed prices, but many prices are
now "semifixed"-merchants inflate the prices by about
25% to leave some room for bargaining. Prices for gold
and silver jewelry and objets d'art are usually fixed.
Khan el-Khalili-This souk is a maze of alleyways and
workshops where artisans carve wooden boxes inlaid with
mother-of-pearl, pound out brass and copper trays and
pots and create stylish jewelry (some inlaid with gemstones).
Make
a point to visit a perfume shop, set up like an old
apothecary. Other worthwhile purchases in the bazaar
include silk or wool carpets and handwoven tapestries.
Household goods to look for are things made of alabaster,
delicate glass (perfume flacons) or Muski glass (handblown
from recycled bottles), and copper and brassware.
The area is also loaded with souvenir shops that sell
papyrus art (paintings on a rough paper made from papyrus)
and other authentic Egyptian kitsch. Beware of aggressive
shopkeepers, but, otherwise, enjoy. When you're ready
for a break, stop off at a teahouse, such as Fishawy's,
where you can sit outside sipping tea or karkaday (hibiscus
tea).
Shops in the bazaar are open daily 10 am-10 PM (some
shops close early on Sunday). The southern boundary
of the souk is on Al-Azhar Street (Islamic Cairo). The
best way to get there is to take a taxi. Tentmakers
Bazaar-Built in 1650, this is Cairo's only surviving
covered market. It's now in the midst of a major renovation
project, which is expected to be finished in 2002-some
of the stalls may be closed during the work.
Specialties
include canvas products and whimsical or geometrical
applique tapestries, wall hangings, pillows and bed
covers. Daily 10 am-10 PM Located a bit south of Khan
el-Khalili near Bab Zuweila (Islamic Cairo).
Wissa
Wassef-This carpet institute makes handwoven kilims
and tapestries in the local folk style. Other nearby
institutes copy its designs, but Wissa Wassef offers
the best quality by far. Weavings of all sizes, as well
as pottery and batik, are available and displayed in
a beautiful garden setting. (Tour guides will often
stop there without your having to mention it-they may
get a percentage of what you spend.)
On the road to Saqqara, near Harranaya.
SPECIALTY STORES
Jewelry Shops-Jewelry is one of the best buys in Cairo.
You can order, for example, a gold cartouche, which
is a pendant with the wearer's name inscribed in pharaonic
hieroglyphics. But be careful: It's not always the cheapest
price that gets you the best buy. Deal with reputable
merchants (who sell 18-carat gold) and keep in mind
that the shops in hotels are always more expensive.
Gold
and silver jewelry is sold by the gram, plus an amount
for workmanship. Local daily newspapers publish the
current per-gram prices for gold and silver. Turquoise
and lapis lazuli are also of good quality and value.
Check out the topaz, aquamarines and alexandrites as
well. Khan Misr Touloun-If there is only one place you
stop to shop for quality Egyptian handicrafts, make
it this boutique. Its owners travel all over the country
to bring the best of Egypt's crafts together under one
roof. Specialties include glass, textiles, pottery and
ceramics.
Monday-Friday
10 am-5 PM Ahmed Ibn Tulun Square (opposite the entrance
to Ibn Tulun Mosque). Phone 365-2227.
UNIQUE OR UNUSUAL
Fragrance Shops-Cairo abounds with places that sell
oils and essences extracted from flowers (usually packaged
in colorful glass bottles).
The
best shops are near the pyramids and in the Khan el-Khalili
bazaar. Most of them will offer you refreshments while
you sample the wide variety of fragrances at your leisure.
 
The
exquisite perfume bottles in hundreds of shapes and
sizes make great gifts and souvenirs.
Papyrus
A distinctly
Egyptian creation. From this plant, the ancient Egyptians
made scrolls on which to write. In relatively recent
times, the art was revived by Dr. Ragab, and now papyrus
artwork depicting pharaonic scenes (sometimes simply
birds) has become popular as a souvenir.
The best places to buy papyrus are at the many Papyrus
Institutes around the city. Prices vary widely. (Be
careful that the painting isn't on banana leaves passed
off as papyrus! A good test is to fold the papyrus as
many times as you can and then open it. If you find
cracks, it isn't genuine.)
Wekelat
el-Ghouri-This restored 17th-century building is used
as a workshop for artisans. All kinds of traditional
handicrafts are for sale, and you can watch the artisans
work without the pressure to buy that you get in the
souk. Daily 8 am-midnight. Entrance fee is £E 6. Next
to Al-Azhar Mosque, across the street from the Khan
el-Khalili bazaar (Islamic Cairo). Phone 511-0472.
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