Love it or hate it, Khan el-Khalili is a wonderful paradox in that it is both Cairo’s largest tourist trap after the Pyramids, as well as the heart of Islamic Cairo life, a place packed with history and Egyptian charm, you sometimes just have to chisel your way through the tourism façade to find it.
It often takes a few visits to the Khan to really get the hang of it, and really come to appreciate it. Most tourists hate their first experience, and unfortunately for many, the first experience is their only one. Your first visit to the Khan will no doubt be a rather overwhelming experience, and often sends even the most hardened travelers running for the safety of the Marriott, but the Khan can be one of the most enjoyable experiences in Cairo, if you know how to do it right.
Living in Cairo for a year, I naturally became well acquainted with the Khan, and became somewhat of an expert. My first experience was indeed a rather miserable one, even though I had been in numerous markets all around the world from Honduras to Istanbul. I still wasn’t quite prepared, but over time I discovered the intricacies of the Khan, and by the end, it was my favorite place to go hang out on a Thursday night. That is why I would like to provide some guidelines for the weary venturer into the jungle of Khan el-Khalili.
1. Go multiple times. If you only have a couple of days in Cairo, you might not be able to do this, and will be limited to just one, but if you can, go more than once. The first time you go I recommend that you go just to check out the Khan and the historical sights around it, do not buy anything. On your first trip, go to al-Azhar and some of the other historical sights, and then take a walk through the Khan. Feel the harassment, hear the shouts of "You want buy perfume?" and "I give you good price, Egyptian price." Look at the goods, see what the Khan has to offer, and most importantly get a feel as to the layout of the place. On your first visit, go into some stores, look at goods, ask prices, do a little bargaining, but don’t buy anything. Just make mental notes of what things you liked, what the price was, and where you can find them.
As strange as it is, the way you carry yourself in the Khan will have a huge effect on the prices you get, and the way you are treated. The first time you will be walking around, looking at everything, and everyone will be able to see in your eyes that it is your first time, and you will be taken for a ride. This first trip will get you over the initial shock, and make it so that on your return you will have a game plan, and you will not have the stary-eyed, fresh-faced look. When walking through the Khan the most important thing is to act like you have been there a thousand times before.
2. Get off the main streets. If you want the best prices, you have to get off the main streets, and work you way through the maze of shops that is the Khan. Anything you can find in the shops on the main streets, you can find anywhere else in the Khan and for better prices.
3. Learn some Arabic. Nothing will help push those prices down, as well as dispel the notion that you are just a dumb tourist, than by learning a few words of Arabic. Learn a few phrases and learn the numbers. It will help immensely. This goes along with what I said before about how you carry yourself being the most important thing. Bargaining is all about making the shopkeeper believe that you know more that you actually do, and it is about confidence. As just a dumb tourist, you have no bargaining power, but if you throw in some Arabic, automatically you prove that you know a little more than the shopkeeper may have assumed. It gives you more of an upper hand, and will seriously decrease your price.
4. Go at night. During the day it is hot, dirty, and miserable. Cairo and the Khan come alive at night, especially Thrusday night. To experience Khan to the fullest, you have to go at night. If you are there during Ramadan, Khan after sunset is an experience like none other. Thousands of Cairenes pack the bazaar to celebrate the breaking of their fasts.
5. Find shops you like, and stick with them. This is the way the Egyptians shop. They find a few shops in the Khan that trust and like, and they constantly come back to them, and this is what I ended up doing. When you go into a store, build a rapport with the shopkeeper, make him remember you, then when you come back, you will be starting with an advantage. While in Cairo, I befriended numerous shopkeepers and I had a shop in the Khan for every type of product. I had my shop for perfume, one for shisha, one for wood products. I would return to those shops every time I went to the Khan just to say hi, even if I wasn’t buying anything. When you establish a relationship with a store owner, he will trust you and you will come to trust him, and he will always be able to help you find anything you need. So on your first visit, find shops you like, get to know the owner, and then return when you want to buy something. The difference will be amazing.
6. Get to know your prices. Ask around. Even if the shopkeeper tells you that that mother-of-pearl inlay box that you love is the only one in the Khan, he’s most likely lying. Look around at other shops for the same thing, or for similar things, and ask the price. Get a good sense as to the price range. The most point in your bargaining will come when the owner asks, "Well, how much do you want to pay?" at that moment, you will have to name a price, and the price you name will immediately tell the owner how much you actually know about the Khan, and how much he will be able to squeeze out of you. That is why you need to ask around, get a good price range, and then take the lowest price in that range and decrease it by at least 30%, and that will be a good starting price from which you can bargain. Knowing your prices well is one of the best things you can do if you are searching for the best bargains. Here is a quick price list of some of the more popular items:
Perfume (made from pure oil): no more than 0.5 LE/gram
Shisha (hookah): 60 LE for a large one with a solid metal shaft and all accessories
Papyrus: 1.5 LE/sheet
Mother-of-Pearl Box (medium): 25 LE.
Cotton Galabiyya: 15 LE
Those are just some starting prices on the most popular items that tourists always get ripped off on. It always hurt me to see a tourist pay 400 LE for 80 grams of perfume, that is why I wrote up this quick guide to try and do my part to help. I sincerely hope it will be of some help, and happy shopping.