3 Unique Stores to Shop in Cairo
If you don’t want to purchase one more cheesy, mass-produced, expected souvenir (even though those things totally have a place in our hearts and dusty bookshelves), be sure to check out these three stores during your next visit to Cairo.
#1: Cairopolitan
Okay, so, a couple years ago I stumbled upon Cairopolitan’s Instagram account before I was even in Egypt. I gave them a follow and it went on the list of places I wanted to visit. After a while of forgetting (thank you distracted mind even though you made a list, or 12), I finally stopped by this quirky little store and now I make sure to take all other new visitors by as well!
Do you—like me—also enjoy a uniquely tufted rug, find childlike wonder in miniatures of ~ JuSt LoCaL tHiNgS ~, desire to fill every wall of your house with funky prints, or struggle to have enough stickers to fulfill your life? Well, well, well, Cairopolitan is for YOU.
This artsy little shop is settled in Garden City: just south of downtown Cairo, just east of the Nile River and Al Manial Island, and just across from an unassuming “French” (not really but the ostrich wasn’t as chewy as this first-timer thought it might be) restaurant that you wouldn’t even know is there without Google Maps.
Don’t expect dirt cheap prices for something that might break in your checked luggage, but do expect a more-than-fair exchange of your souvenir budget for a piece of locally crafted/printed art that will forever bring a smile to your face and have others asking, “where in the world did you find that in Cairo?! That’s soooooo cool!”
#2: A.P.E.
Like to go on a mini-adventure while finding your new favorite place to shop? Allow me to tell you about A.P.E. (Association for the Protection of the Environment).
Either ask a trusted friend you know in the city, your tour-guide you found online, or just go for it on your own (if you’re a go-with-the-flow / I’ll-figure-it-out kind of person, or someone who’s already visited Cairo at least once). I would heavily suggest asking someone who knows where the shop is to go with you if you’ve never been in the city. It’s not that you can’t figure it out; it’s just that you will avoid a lot of potential anxiety plus a language barrier if you put your faith into someone else’s hands on this one.
If you’ve got a little Arabic under your belt and Google Maps pulled up on your phone, here’s how a friend and I found this amazing upcycled/recycled haven on a sunny, almost cool-ish December afternoon:
Grab an Uber or taxi to this location, just at the bottom of the Manshiyat Nasser neighborhood (which is at the base of Mokattam).
Find a tuktuk driver who will take you to A.P.E. You can ask your Uber/taxi driver to help you find a tuktuk and communicate this—there is ALWAYS someone in Cairo ready and willing to help. Have the location pulled up on your phone/map. Pay your tuktuk driver somewhere between 10-20 Egyptian pounds after arriving to the site. It’s better to settle on the price before even sitting in the vehicle.
*You will need to either take a tuktuk or be ready for a short 20-ish minute walk uphill to the store’s location. The neighborhood roads are too narrow for an automobile and most drivers will not even want to try.If you’re not sure if you’ve arrived or not, ask the guys at the gate for A.P.E. recycling center. You’ll step through a door and take a brief walk until you see the A.P.E. symbol painted on a wall like below. Step into the courtyard and walk until you see someone else to direct you. Eventually, you will see a door with a Showroom sign as pictured above.
NOW, enjoy browsing through stacks of incredibly hand-crafted recycled items. You are standing in a store located in the middle of the community where a large portion (85%) of Cairo’s garbage is taken. The people who live and work here sort through the refuse of Egypt’s capital city, and the women of A.P.E. work to produce items from what’s recycled. Over 90% of the collected garbage is recycled (!!!), a feat that is difficult for this American mind to comprehend. It’s quite impressive, and immensely beautiful.
TIPS: Be sure to have cash for the tuktuk driver. When exiting, you will do the same thing you did when entering—only backwards. Walk a little ways until you see a tuktuk willing to take you downhill to the same location the Uber/taxi originally dropped you, or foot it the whole way. While in Manshiyat Nasser, you could also make a day of it and visit St. Simon the Tanner Monastery—home to one of the largest, oldest, and cave-iest churches in the world (zip-line included!).
With two fun neighborhood locations to choose from (Zamalek or Heliopolis), Fair Trade offers unique items from jewelry to pottery to keychains to baskets nestled in totally walkable communities with a million other fun things to see, taste, and do.
Fair Trade features products ethically sourced from 43 vendors across Egypt with the mission, according to their website, to “provide marketing and development services to disadvantaged producers, generate sustainable income for those artisans, and hence preserve Egyptian handicrafts.”
I have yet to walk into this store without making a purchase. It’s a great place to stock up with loads of smaller gifts to take back to everyone under the sun back home, as well as the perfect spot to find that special piece for yourself you didn’t even realize you needed. Give them a follow on Instagram and be sure to add Fair Trade to your list of stores when shopping in Cairo!