The street between Al Ghouri’s mosque and the mausoleum, and the area around, was historically the city’s silk market. While it isn’t a particularly great place to buy anything, it’s worth walking through the busy clothes market for its colourful atmosphere. Less than 50m south of the mosque is Cairo’s last tarboosh (fez) maker, who shapes the red felt hats on heavy brass presses. Once worn by every effendi (gentleman), the tarboosh is now mainly bought by tourists.
Carpet & Clothes Market
Cairo
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Nearby Cairo attractions
1. Mosque-Madrassa of Al Ghouri
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On the western side of Sharia Al Muizz, opposite the mausoleum, is the second part of Al Ghouri's funerary complex, the intimate and richly decorated…
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The penultimate Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri built his funerary complex in 1504, on both sides of Sharia Al Muizz. At the age of 78, Al Ghouri was beheaded in…
3. Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah
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Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…
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Built in AD 1504 by the Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri, this wikala was originally designed as an inn for traders following the caravan routes from the east and…
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This tiny alley is Islamic Cairo's literary star thanks to being immortalised in Naguib Mahfouz's famous novel named after the street. Although the…
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Bustling and buzzing, the market street known as Sharia Al Muski begins in the khan where it's formally called Sharia Gawhar Al Qaid and is lined by tacky…
7. Sabil of Muhammed Ali Pasha
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This elegant 1820 sabil (public fountain) was the first in Cairo to have gilded window grilles and calligraphic panels in Ottoman Turkish. It has been…
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The skinny lanes of Khan Al Khalili are basically a medieval-style mall. This agglomeration of shops – many arranged around small courtyards – stocks…