Shopping in Cairo

The Khan El Khalili

Getting there

If you are on a package holiday to Egypt, you will probably be taken to the Khan El Khalili as part of your guided tour of Cairo. If you want to make your own way it is best to get a taxi and ask for “Midan Hussein” in the Khan el Khalili. You can ask your guide or one of the hotel receptionists to negotiate a fare for you before you get into the cab.

Map of the Khan El Khalili

red circle = rough position of Mahmouds costume shop
blue circle = rough position of El Fishawi café
purple circle = position of Khan El Khalili café

Midan Hussein is a large square next to a mosque surrounded by shops selling all sorts, including costumes & scarves. The stuff here is aimed at tourists who don’t like to venture to far into the khan. Don’t buy any hipscarves here, they’ll be poor quality & over priced and you will have to haggle.

Mr Mahmouds Bellydance Costume Shop

Mahmoud Abd El Ghaffar
"Al Wikalah"
73 Gawfar El Qayid St.
Khan El Khalili
Tel. 589 7443
Fax 390 0357

Turn your back on the main road (with the mosque on your right) and head down the street straight ahead on the left of the square. It’s a fairly wide street compared to most of the alleys around the Khan. This is “Muski”.

You’ll go past two small streets on your right and before you get to the third slightly larger one Mahmouds costume shop is in an alley on your left.

The entrance to the alley looks like this:

When you first get there it doesn’t look like somewhere you should go (by English standards!), but it’s ok, the shop is only round the corner and it is quite safe. Go straight down the alley and turn right at the end. You will then be faced with this doorway:

This is Mahmouds costume shop. If there is someone at the front desk say hello and ask if it is ok to look around. The prices are fixed here and very reasonable, so no haggling. The prices aren’t written out though, but someone will probably accompany you around the shop and you can ask them for the prices of anything you’re interested in.

Have fun and get stuck in. There’s a little changing room if you want to try anything on. Allow some time to be there, if possible, as there are 4 floors to cover. It might be worth starting from the top of the building as he has some fabulous skirts on the top floor. Hipscarves are lower down. Be careful with hipscarves as they can be very weighty and you might get stuck with an excess baggage charge on the way back. Having said that I bought 40 home and although it was overweight I didn’t have to pay anything. Depends who you fly with I think.