City Stars Mall
City Stars Mall is a combination of hotels, apartments, shopping and entertainment located under one huge roof. Equally popular with westerners yearning for a taste of home and young Egyptians eager to get their hands on international brands and fashion, it caters to both a traditional and western market. American-style coffee shops and Radio Shack provide sought-after western goods, while stalls sell locally-made candles and perfumes (at decidedly non-local prices) in a shopping district with over 150,000m 2 of space, and international cuisine and local delicacies are on offer in the broad range of restaurants.
Khan el-Khalili Market
At the opposite end of the spectrum from City Stars is the Khan el-Khalili market – usually known locally simply as “the Khan”. Founded in 1382, the market provided a static location for the great caravan markets of the 13 th and 14 th centuries and represented one of the world's great trading hubs many hundreds of years ago. Nowadays, the market has changed little even if its international significance has declined; a tour around it is a must for most visitors to the city and will reveal tiny stalls selling spices just as they did during the Mamluk Sultanate and tiny workshops where brass, silver and gold are worked by hand using methods as old as the city itself. Coffee shops (“kahwahs” in Arabic) large and small are sprinkled throughout the market and offer bargain source of refreshments as well as a glimpse into traditional Egyptian life. It's worth noting that women are not welcome in many traditional Kahwahs – check with the owner before entering so as to avoid causing offence.
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