Khan al Khalili Bazaar in Cairo, Egypt.

Khan el-Khalili is a major souq in the Old City of Cairo.

The district is a major tourist attraction, and is considered by many, tourists and natives alike, to be one of the most interesting parts of Cairo. It is mostly shops, but some of the shops have also their own little factories or workshops.

The souq 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.

The souq is noted for selling good-quality clothing, cloth, spices, souvenirs, and traditional jewelry and perfumes at reasonable prices. Imitation Western perfumes are also produced, but they tend to be of inferior quality.

In addition to shops, there are several Arabic coffeehouses (مقهى maqha or قهوة qahwah, depending on dialect), restaurants, and street food vendors distributed throughout the market. The coffeeshops are generally small and quite traditional, serving Turkish coffee and usually offering shisha. The Al-Hussein Mosque is also in Khan El-Khalili; Al-Azhar University and its mosque are not far away.

Naguib Mahfouz's novel Midaq Alley was set in an alley in Khan El-Khalili.

The market was a target for terrorism during the spate of attacks in Cairo in April 2005. The suicide attack in the market, on 7 April, took 21 lives (eleven Egyptians, two French tourists, one American, and seven foreigners of unidentified origin). It was the first attack in the series; this attack scared away tourists from Egypt in general and Khan El-Khalili in general for some time. The market has yet to recover its former tourist business.

[Source: Wikipedia]

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