All addresses
Cairo · Boulaq
Wekalet el-Balah
The market of fabric by the metre, second-hand clothes and curtains: Cairo dresses here.
€ Budget
A maze of lanes between the Nile and Boulaq, piled with cotton lengths, imported second-hand clothes and tailors cutting on the spot. Nothing here is made for visitors, which is what makes the walk interesting: a neighbourhood economy running at full tilt.
The extra bit
A market tailor will copy a garment you bring in two days, for the price of the fabric: the best made-to-measure souvenir.
Know before you go
Cash, narrow and very busy lanes: bag in front of you, and avoid late Friday morning.
