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Khan el-Khalili, much loved by tourists and one of the most interesting bazaars in the whole Middle East, is in the throes of death.
Why?
Because of the Chinese invasion, traders say.
The bazaar, named after Prince Jaharkas el-Khalili, who was one of the powerful Mameluke princes in the 14th century, is located in the Hussein district of Islamic Cairo. It is famous for its unusual, typically Oriental souvenirs, and handmade crafts. The mediaeval atmosphere of this traditional market with its labyrinthine streets is very appealing to visitors. El-Hussein Mosque is also in Khan el-Khalil and Al-Azhar University, and its mosque are just a stone's throw away.Maged Morris, who owns a bazaar in Khan el-Khalili, says the Chinese are determined to undercut Egyptian products and Egyptian traders obviously buy what's cheapest, in order to maximise their profits. “The GATT agreement is a big problem for Egyptian industry, as most foreign products easily find their way into Egypt, but we cannot export our products because we face so many obstacles. Besides, the Government doesn't provide any facilities for exporters," he explains.Adel Fathi, another bazaar owner, says Chinese products even include Pharaonic-style ashtrays, statues, mugs, pens, crystal pyramids and more. “The price of an Egyptian product equals the price of ten Chinese ones," he says.Fadel Fouad, who also works in the Khan, says Egyptian raw materials are expensive while in China they are cheap, while his colleague, Samira, says the Chinese even forge precious stones - and, despite their poor quality, they're very popular.Marzouq, the owner of a jewellery shop in the bazaar, says most silver products, even the Pharaonic-style ones, are not Egyptian, although most people think so. The silver is from Switzerland, Italy and Malaysia, and Islamic and Pharaonic-style jewellery is manufactured in these countries very skilfully. The only thing that remains purely Egyptian are the silver products in the style of the Siwis (from Siwa Oasis in the Western Desert) and Bedouin.The thing tourists most love to buy at the Khan is sheeshas (water pipes) but the Chinese can't even leave these alone. In fact, most sheeshas found in the Khan el-Khalili are Chinese. Mohamed Hosni, another worker in the bazaar, says that Chinese sheeshas are made of cheap, malleable alloys, while the Egyptian ones, made of stainless steel, are very expensive.As for the Islamic products like rosaries and framed verses from the Holy Qur'an written in beautiful calligraphy, 90 per cent are Chinese and Turkish, while some are even made in Israel. Samah, another bazaar owner, says she's seen an Israeli rosary with an aromatic smell. Randa, who's been making rosaries by hand for the past eight years, says they cost anywhere from LE250 (about $46) to more than LE450 (about $83), while you can pick up a dozen Chinese rosaries for only LE5 (less than $1).“Unfortunately, many local workshops have shut down because of the Chinese invasion," says Randa.
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That's a real shame. They make it so easy to get the foreign products in but so difficult to get the local products out. Talk about suffocating the locals....again. Posts: 13440 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Yes i know so many touristic souvenirs from Egypt all have 'made in china' wrote on stickers below.... Its such a shame, if it wasn't for the cheapness of these inferior products, personally i would love to have a souvenir from a certain country that was actually made in and by people of that specific country. But money is the root of all evil... Buyers want good prices and sellers want big big profits Posts: 634 | From: the Moon........... | Registered: Mar 2007
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Yikes, what is the point of having a souvenir from Egypt when it's made in CHINA ?? I would rather have a small bottle of sand from near the pyramids. Posts: 13440 | Registered: Feb 2006
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This last trip, I was looking at "Pashmina" scarfs being sold in Khan . . . hehe, I brought similarly labeled items off eBay that were shipped from China. I did buy a couple as I was with a group of women who were bargaining for a lot of them . . . they were quite cheap . . . but I wish I had been able to find the shop that sells good quality Egyptian ones.
I stopped at a street vendor in downtown Cairo and bought some other scarves . . . He pointed out one side of his displays and said "India" and the other side he said "Italy" . . . when I said "Egypt", he just shook his head!!!
What is really sad about this is that so many ppl in Egypt need to work . . .
-------------------- I fell in to a burning ring of fire . . . Posts: 895 | From: NorthTexas, USA | Registered: Mar 2004
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That's really bad. The people are already struggling. The government should put a stop to this.
Posts: 4446 | From: Egyptian in Sydney | Registered: Mar 2005
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