Khan el-Khalili
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Khan el-Khalili (Arabic: خان الخليلي) is a major souk in the Old City of Cairo and a major tourist attraction. The district is one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike.
[edit] History
The souk dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a large caravanserai (خا khan in Arabic) in Cairo under the Burji Mamluk Sultan Barquq; the eponymous khan is still extant.By the time of Barquq, the first Circassian Mamluk Sultan (1382- 1399 A.D.) a lot of reconstruction needed to be done within the walls of the city in order to repair the damages incurred as a result of the plague. In (1384 A.D.) When Barquq started his madrassa in Bayn el-Qasrayn, markets were rebuilt, and Khan el-Khalili was established.[1]
[edit] Today
The souq is noted for selling good-quality clothing, cloth, spices, souvenirs, and traditional jewelry and perfumes at reasonable prices. In addition to shops, there are several coffeehouses (مقهى maqha or قهوة qahwah, depending on dialect), restaurants, and street food vendors distributed throughout the market. The coffeeshops are generally small and quite traditional, serving Arabic coffee and usually offering shisha. The al-Hussein Mosque is also in Khan el-Khalili; Al-Azhar University and its mosque are not far away.
Naguib Mahfouz's novel Midaq Alley is set in an alley in Khan el-Khalili.
The market was a target of terrorism during the spate of attacks in Cairo in April 2005. The suicide attack in the market, on April 7, killed 21 people (eleven Egyptians, two French tourists, one American, and seven foreigners of unidentified origin). It was the first attack in the series; this attack drove away tourists from Egypt in general and Khan el-Khalili in particular for some time.
