jenmakin

Hello, I'll be staying at the Oasis Hotel located in Giza - street address is below

Alexandria Desert Road Pyramids, Cairo Egypt

It says that I'm located 10 km from El Giza metro station. I'm curious to know which direction I need to go to get to the Khan & the Tent Makers Bazaar.

Thanks!

Grcxx3

Calling Debbie...........

Actually, it might be easier to take a taxi to the Khan and then walk to the tentmakers bazaar. It's not hard to find, but you need a good map.

The Khan and the tentmakers bazaar.....2 of my FAVORITE places!!!!!

Casual_Cairo

If you really want to take the Metro - go Direction Shobra and get off at the Attaba Station. You need to walk east about a mile or two still from there.

Take a map and when you come out of the Metro station at Attaba, find Al Ahzar Street and walk until you come to the Khan on your left. The Tent Makers is over the green bridge and down that street about another mile or so.

FYI - your hotel is way the hell out and gone from the city. You will pay lots to use a taxi driver just to get your 10K to the Metro station. It probably won't be that much more to take the taxi all the way in to the Khan.

Best of luck.

Casual_Cairo

I should say too that doing what I say above is not going to be easy. I would have said first off that you shouldn't even try it unless you speak Arabic and can read Arabic as finding Al Ahzar Street isn't as straight forward as it might be in say Barcelona or Rome to find a street you need. Plus traffic is not easy to contend with when you need to cross the street.

I didn't though, as you sound like you want to try it and I would come across as snotty if I said don't do it, or said you won't be able to find the Khan, so keep all that in mind when you do try it, if you do, and if it turns out to be harder than you planned, grab a taxi, pay the price and tell him you want to go to Midan Hussein. That will get you to the Market. From there you can look for the green bridge to go to the Tent Makers Market.

Barring all of that and to save time and stress, hire a guide to take you there.

Casual_Cairo

One final bit of advice - Understand that it is culturally impossible for an Egyptian to say "I don't know", so when you ask for directions, expect an answer, but learn quickly that it might not be the answer you wanted or one that will do you any good. Your instincts about if he seems to know what he is talking about will have to suffice.

Also, if you stop someone and ask for the Khan el Khalili, you might very well be taken to some persons counsins mothers television repairmans brothers Papyrus Museum that will just as likely be named Khan el Khalili Papyrus.

These are just some of the things that keeps life interesting around here, right Grcxx3?

Grcxx3

You said it Debbie!!!!! Never a dull moment when you live in Cairo!

jenmakin

Thank you so much for your help.... Valuable advice and well taken. It's too funny because my travel agent felt that the hotel was centrally located to the Khan. From what you're describing and I trust you more, it seems like it will take me eons to get there if I decided to walk! Again, thank you!!

Casual_Cairo

Tell your agent to hook her/himself into Fodors.com to get his/her information before booking things. Obviously it would make her/him a better agent.

Grcxx3

<<It's too funny because my travel agent felt that the hotel was centrally located to the Khan. >>

Has the agent even LOOKED at a map of Cairo??????

sf7307

Seriously, what good is travel agent who doesn't actually know anything about the place you're going? The internet is so much better!

lisa1420

What is the tent makers bazaar and is it worth the trip to see it?

Casual_Cairo

It's a market walking distance from the Khan el Khalili (open all days except Sunday) where men do their applique stitchery work - much like quilting. They make decorator pillows, wall hangings, table runners, bed spreads and more. It is an old time craft that is starting to die out. The young boys are not as interested to learn this from their fathers as they used to be.
The location may be as interesting as the crafts themselfs. It is located in one of the last ancient covered markets still standing in Cairo.

Grcxx3

I loved the tentmakers bazaar. You can find a few things (table runners, pillows) in the Khan, but the variety just isn't there.

I had a good friend (a quilter) who spent several hours looking at all the little shops. She finally found one that used designs and colors she liked and had excellent craftsmanship. She went back a few days later and worked with them for a couple of hours designing a queen size quilt for her bed. It was gorgeous! And at some point between her stuff being packed up to leave Egypt and getting her shipment in Houston -it was stolen! She was heartbroken. No amount of insurance money could possibly replace it.

baracuda2

lisa1420,
We went to the tent makers market and found the place fascinating and well worth the trip there. We bought a large wall hanging, all hand made and very colorful. When we got home we took it to our framer who mounted it and prepared it to be hung. He told us he has seen many hand made wall hangings from all over the world and has framed many of them. He said this was the best made he had ever seen, very well done, and worth far more than we paid for it. Go there and enjoy the experience.
Bara

smileflive

i think it is better to rent a taxi or a van to go to the market it will not be easy to arrive to the metro station from your hotel.
a bout the tent market,you will enjoy it so much more than khan el khalili market.

lisa1420

Thanks for the info. My husband lives in Cairo and we visit him every summer and I am always looking for new things to see and do. I would love to buy a hand made lace tablecloth so perhaps this is the place to start.

Casual_Cairo

Lisa - this is not lace at all. Nothing lacy about it. Think quilt - not lace. Also, while I found some tent maker place mats once at the crafts shop in the church behind the Marriott in Zamalek, I actually hesitate to use them because of the cleaning issue. Cleaning this can be an issue. I gave some pillow covers once to a dry cleaner here in Egypt, that I don't guess actually dry cleaned them because the colors all ran terribly. If someone does want to use tent maker products on the table and they will need to be cleaned regularly, I guess I'd suggest doing the soaking in vinegar trick to set the dye before washing or put a piece of glass over them to protect them. Just be careful.

Casual_Cairo

Lisa - off the subject, but for something new and different to do - does your husbands job give him a 4 x 4 to drive? If so, have you ever taken the family out to the Valley of the Whales? I have lived here 11 years and only just a few weeks ago finally went. It is now listed as a World Heritage Site and it is amazing! Egypt has done an excellent job of fixing it up. If they do the Giza Plateau as well as they have done the Valley of the Whales, it will be very good. Granted, the VOW doesn't get the same number of visitors as does Giza, so they don't have to manage as many people, but Giza has something to strive for.
If you haven't heard of it, you should go some time. It is out just past Fayoum Oasis and Wadi Ryan. The worst part is a 30-35 km washboard road that you need to drive to get to it through the desert. Once you arrive there is a nice visitor center, park rangers to answer your questions, and about a 2 to 2-1/2 hour walk on an easy path through the whale skeletons that are 47 million years old. They have them roped off and good signage at each one.
It's a site not that many people know about, but well worth the day or two it takes to go see it. You could do it in one day if you wanted to, but there are hotels and ECO lodges on the way to stay in if you want to make a weekend of it.

lisa1420

Casual Cairo... this is very interesting. My husband can get a 4 x 4 no problem. I will ask him if he has heard of this. Anything else you can recommend that would be interesting. We want to go to Port Said also to see the Suez Canal.

My husband lives in Zamalek so easy to get around.
Where do you live in Cairo?

Grcxx3

Debbie - that is very interesting about the VOW. We went there - but geez, it was probably 7 years ago and there was NOTHING set up at all. Actually, if we hadn't gone with a friend who had GPS points, we probably wouldn't have found it.

But it is a fascinating place and I am glad they have it set up to protect it.