Letters · Cairo
Khan el-Khalili sensory walk
Khan el-Khalili is smelled before it is understood — cumin rising with coffee, brass polish, sweat and perfume in the same breath of alley air.
Walk without purchase obligation. Vendors call because attention is currency; a smile and steady pace suffice. Touch textiles when invited; photograph metalwork when light rakes across hammer marks.
Lane selection
Main arteries deliver spectacle; side passages deliver workshop sound — lathes, hammers, quiet bargaining. Alternate one of each per visit rather than attempting cartographic mastery.
Photograph people only with consent. Craft objects are fair game; faces are not scenery.
Tea pause
Fishawi or a smaller balcony café mid-walk resets sensory overload. Mint tea is not tourism cliché here — it is physiological reset.