Cairo
Khan el-Khalili takes its name from a caravanserai built in 1382 by Jarkas al-Khalili, master of the stables of Sultan Barquq. The market grew up around it,…
Khan el-Khalili takes its name from a caravanserai built in 1382 by Jarkas al-Khalili, master of the stables of Sultan Barquq. The market grew up around it, and in the sixteenth century Sultan al-Ghuri rebuilt much of it with the gates and arcades that still stand. It is a maze of lanes full of shops selling brass, silver, lamps, spices and textiles, with old cafes such as El Fishawy. It lies beside the mosque of Sayyiduna al-Husayn and a short walk from al-Azhar.