Before leaving, all the tourists prefer taking souvenirs for their friends from Egypt. Among the highly purchased souvenirs are the perfume bottles, handmade works such as baskets, tent making works with magnificent Pharaonic and Islamic styles. Alabaster statues and papyrus papers are also highly admired items that tourist shop for since it reflects the spirit of the great ancient Egyptian civilization. There are many shops displaying copper and brass works and perfume bottles as well at good prices in many places throughout Cairo. Bargaining is a tradition for buying souvenirs without overpaying for it in most of the markets and bazaars in Cairo like Darb Saada, El Darb El Ahmar and others. It is recommended also to have an overall view on all the exhibits in the bazaars and stalls of the market and decide what to buy and the maximum price you may pay since the price may vary from a stall to another. For those who are not skilful in haggling it is recommended to purchase souvenirs from shops of fixed prices to avoid overpaying for his goods.
There are numerous local markets, bazaars, and shopping centers in Cairo displaying charming products that can hardly be found at the same quality and price in any other place in the world. The gold works of Pharaonic style are the most preferable things for tourists because of the cleverness of its artisans and the low manufacture cost. There are numerous gold stores in Khan El Khalili that tourists can pass by while walking around Cairo for visiting its remarkable Islamic monuments.
The tent making market or El Khayamiya is another popular tourist attraction in El Muiz Street located few meters away from El Muayyad Sheikh Mosque. On the windows of the small shops in that local market, one can see beautiful bed covers, cushion covers, and wall hangings with nice folkloric patterns, Pharaonic designs and other birds and peasants shapes. In addition to these local markets, there is a full scale of luxurious shopping centers throughout Cairo such as Arcadia mall and Talaat Harb mall in Talaat Harb Square, Downtown Cairo are the most famous and most visited shopping center in Cairo. In the show windows of these luxurious centers there are fashionable shoe, clothes, cotton works, and leather products at good prices.