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KHAN AL-KHALILI




                  he Kahn Al-Kalili, or the “Khan” as the locals   We headed there on a free day – one without
                  call it, is a giant medieval-looking marketplace   guides or drivers, one with plenty of opportunity for
            Tin the historic heart of Islamic Cairo. Once     serendipity and misadventure. Our taxi dropped us
            called the Turkish bazaar during the Ottoman occupa-  in front of the Al-Hussein mosque near the gateway
            tion, the Khan is said to be the oldest open-air market   to the 600-year-old market. We were a bit confused
            in the Middle East. For us, it represented the Cairo of   as to where the market started. A young man ap-
            our mind’s eye. The one we thrilled to as we watch old  proached and pointed across the street, saying, “Don’t
            cliff-hanger adventure movies. In our imaginations,   go there. That’s the Chinese souk.”  Gesturing in an-
            we already knew how would look, smell and sound.   other direction he counseled, “Go there, much better.”
































































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