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Not Just Another Khan
Cairo addicts know it, and the first-timer to
Cairo will get to know it very soon – the whole city is
a shopping paradise, with its countless markets, dozen of
noisy shopping malls, trade centers, hotel boutique
arcades and its unique areas, where whole neighborhoods
are dedicated to one single product. You need shoes? No
problem! Downtown around Talaat Harb and Qasr Al-Nil
Street is the shoe heaven located, with hundred of shops
which are out to get only one thing, okay, two things –
your feet.
The mother of all markets, of course, is the Khan Al-Khalili,
that medieval bazaar hotspot, which must not be missed in
every sightseeing tour. Nevertheless, the Khan Al-Khalili
is not easy to deal with. Swarms of salesclerks swoop down
on the curious tourist, capable only of whispering their
»Only looking!« in not less than at least ten different
languages, Russian and Japanese included, not to speak of
the overwhelming number of displayed goods and the
necessity to haggle about the prices. Although undoubtedly
a lot of fun, its not everyone's cup of tea.
For this reason let's recommend another Khan, the Khan
Misr Touloun. Also located in medieval Cairo, just in
front of the Mosque Ibn Touloun, it offers everything
which the souvenir hunter could dream of, with a smaller
but better selection than the Khan Al-Khalili. Now, the
Khan Misr Touloun can't be really compared with its big
brother, since it is only a shop and not a whole
neighbourhood, but, oh, what a special one! Since 1996,
Frenchwoman Maryse Borhan and her Egyptian husband Ismail
sell goods accumulated from their travels to villages and
oases over all of Egypt – or or are aquired from
Egyptian craftsmen, having traveled from great distances
to Cairo, solely to provide the Khan Misr Touloun with
their unusual products. The craftsman's reward? A
very fair price for their wares, with a reasonable profit
of 10-15% for the shopowners resulting in a nice benefit
for the tourists. While the prices are fixed and
there is no haggling, the consumer can take satisfaction
in the fact that their money has also been spent on a
worthwhile cause. For example, in the Khan Misr Touloun,
you will find ethnic-style clothes, bedspreads and table
clothes, all made of high quality Egyptian cotton, made by
the Nagada community of Upper Egypt. This community
maintains weaving techniques and traditions dating from
Pharaonic times. You will also see garments for
children and adults transformed into extraordianry works
of art by the crochet talent of the women of the Bashayer
workshop located in Helwan near Cairo.
What else can be found at the Khan Misr Touloun?
Objects carved from wood, tableware, boxes etc., coming
from Hagaza, a village in Upper Egypt, photographs and
posters with Egyptian subjects for expensive tastes,
glazed pottery made by peasant children in Fayyoum Oasis,
beaded bags manufactured by African prisoners of the
Egyptian prison Qanater, rag dolls in Sinai- and Siwa-inspired
costumes, and last but not least and without making the
list of goods near to be complete, leather masks made by
shopowner Maryse Borhan herself.
All in all, there are a lot of wares to discover and
buy without exploiting the craftsmen, at a place where the
average shopper can transform her- or himself into nothing
less than a supporter of, yes, cultural values and
economic development.
Sounds nice? Khan Misr Touloun, located in front of the
Mosque's Ibn Touloun main entrance. Open from 10:00 am
till 5:00 pm, except Saturday and Sunday. Telephone: 36 52
227.z
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