We all love going to the Khan

The Khan el Khalili (1382) is an open place market area also called a souk (sometimes also the grand bazaar) and is a tangle of alleyways and walkways with vendors selling all kinds of things. It's in an old, old, part of Cairo and was off limits to us for months so getting there now is just that much more fun. The more experienced ladies have their favorite shopkeepers and without them you could easily get lost in the maze of old streets and alleys. They also know the more reputable vendors and have established warm relationships with them.

It's always exciting to go to the Khan with a bunch of ladies. In the days before the revolution (I hear that phrase all the time; things have changed a lot since then and not for the better) large groups of women would spend the day shopping and then enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. The restaurant is now closed and we are told to leave the Khan before 2 pm because the traffic is a verifiable nightmare. So going there now is a mad dash to visit all the good vendors. And you are warned not to drink water because there are no restrooms.

One of our most favorite vendors is M K Jewelers. He makes beautiful silver jewelry and has a tiny room that contains a desk and filing cabinet in which all kinds of jewelry is kept. You simply paw through the drawers and plastic trays until you find something. You are usually squeezing around several other ladies as well. It's almost like a scavenger hunt but lots of fun. The jeweler will adjust the lengths for you and then weigh it to give you the price. The prices are great for unique, beautiful, Egyptian jewelry.

Another favorite shop is owned by a retired professor who makes and sells beautiful wooden things and specializes in boxes made of ebony (or some dark wood like ebony) with inset white camel bone and mother of pearl. His boxes are unique in Egypt and come in all shapes and sizes.

And we always go to the vendor who sells beautiful handmade glass items. You can place orders for anything and he will make it. Wine glasses, figurines, christmas ornaments, etc. He also sells clothes and galabeyas and it's easy to buy from him because you know you are paying a fair price.

Shopping with my friend Lori and the very experienced Betsy (yellow sweater) at the glass man's shop. He will custom make anything for you and is just delightful.

I love the light fixtures and will have similar lights in our villa.

Walking and shopping the alleyways. Clothes, souvenir things, pottery, glass, rugs, old Bedouin things, old pewter and copper things, jewelry stores, bead stores, some furniture.

A necklace and bracelet from MK. I love my bracelet especially.

Khan el-Khalili is a major souk in the Islamic district of Cairo. The bazaar district is one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians. The souk dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a large caravanserai (خان khan in Arabic) in Cairo under the Burji Mamluk Sultan Barquq; the eponymous khan is still extant. By the time of Barquq, the first Circassian Mamluk Sultan (1382–1399) much reconstruction needed to be done within the walls of the city in order to repair the damage incurred as a result of the Black Death. When Barquq started his madrassa in Bayn el-Qasrayn, markets were rebuilt, and Khan el-Khalili was established.^[1] It was also known Turkish bazaar during the Ottoman Empire.
The Khan el-Khalili was built on the site of the much older and historically significant Za’afran Tomb, the burial place of the Fatimid Caliphs, founders of the City of Cairo.^[2] The Za'afran Tomb was part of the Great Fatimid Eastern Palace (built AH 358 / AD 968) constructed upon the founding of the city.