The Khan al-Khalili bazaar is probably the most famous spot in Fatimid Cairo.

However, few of those who have developed addiction to visiting the bazaar know its history and the story behind its presence in this place.

The neighbourhood where the bazaar is located dates back to the Mamluk era, when it was built by Mamluk Prince Sharkas al-Khalili in 1382.

This was why the bazaar was called after him. The word ‘Khan’ finds its roots in the Turkish language and it means street or neighbourhood.

The Khan al-Khalili neighbourhood is the most famous ancient Islamic tourist neighbourhood in the whole of Egypt.

It is a huge commercial district that contains hundreds of shops, workshops of all types, cafés, and restaurants.

Khan al-Khalili was one of the 38 markets present during the Mamluk era across the Egyptian capital.

Nonetheless, Khan al-Khalili’s location at the centre of the old city made it acquire special importance and made it a mecca for shoppers.

This is true to the present and also during the Mamluk era.

The market was established above the tombs of the former Fatimid caliphs. Over the years, it evolved into one of Egypt’s most important centres of Islamic heritage.

It is actually viewed as the focal point in the revival of this heritage at the Arab level.

This made it an important tourist site, especially for Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners interested in the Arab and Islamic culture.

The market’s shops parade a wide range of objects, from traditional to heritage and environmental products.

Behind these shops and the products displayed in them are Egypt’s heritage and cultural crafts, some of which are close to extinction, even as the authorities work hard through a series of initiatives to protect them.

Old hands in the making of statues, ancient Egyptian amulets, traditional clothes, hand-made pieces of art made of a wide range of materials, including glass, copper, silver, wood, leather and precious stones, stand behind the wares present in the shops.

The same ships exhibit men’s and women’s clothing, especially the traditional galabiyas, and popular children’s clothing, as well as fezzes and boats.

Some of the shops of the market also sell natural herbs and incenses that can only be found in Khan al-Khalili.

Some of the market’s shops are also specialised in selling hand-made Shirazi, Persian and silk carpets, in addition to antiques, crystals and local papyrus with pharaonic drawings and hieroglyphics.

The Arabic, Asian and European perfume trade is also overtaking the market, with some of the old shops of the place turning to this trade, thanks to its lucrative nature.

The market is also famous for handicrafts, such as arabesque, inlaying wood with pearl, engraving on copper and silver, drawing on papyrus and coloured glass, making jewelry, necklaces and ivory, sewing men’s and women’s clothes, and hookahs.

Hookahs have actually become one of the most popular products in the market, attracting a huge number of people from all countries to Khan al-Khalili.

The market is also home to the oldest and most famous café in the Egyptian capital, namely al-Fishawy Café.

This place is almost 240 years old. It was a meeting point of Egypt’s and the Arab world’s artists, writers and intellectuals in the past.

It is now a very important landmark of the market, functioning as a magnet to locals and people of all nationalities.

Egypt’s Nobel Laureate, Naguib Mahfouz was a regular guest of al-Fishawi, along with other important writers and artists of his time.

However, Khan al-Khalili bazaar is only a small detail in the larger picture of Fatimid Cairo which contains a huge number of other landmarks, including some of the nation’s oldest mosques, such as al-Azhar and al-Hussein mosques.

The market is also a few metres away from the City of the Dead.