It’s around 5pm when we arrive at the Bazaar (full name: Khan el-Khalili) our final stop on this day-long, whirlwind tour of Cairo with Egypt Fun Tours.

To recap: I’m in Cairo on a 24 hour layover and Egypt Fun Tours offers highlight excursions of the city to accommodate multi-hour layovers. We’ve already visited the Pyramids of Giza and Great Sphinx, the Papyrus Museum, the Cairo Museum, and had lunch at a local place downtown PLUS watched the sunset over the Nile River. It’s been an incredibly full day and we’re not done yet.

Our driver drops us off near the Bazaar and my tour guide Mohammed leads us in on foot.

We pass this picturesque mosque en route to the Bazaar:

This man below walks around with a giant tray of bread for sale over his shoulder — he’s one of several we pass by and I can’t help but swing around for a quick photo.

While in years past the Bazaar may have been bustling with tourists, it’s now primarily a local affair due to the decline in tourism following civil unrest in 2011. Vendors are hurting for business.

Mohammed takes us to El Fishawy — a 200+ year old coffee shop. It was established in 1773.

The ornate interior is empty, but locals line the outside tables to drink tea and smoke hookah.

Mohammed orders us mint tea…

… and apple hookah, also called shisha. Confession: I have never tried hookah before, as I’m a total type-A control freak and smoking anything is not in my nature.

But when in Rome, right?

Mohammed laughs at my first few attempts of inhaling, as I condition my lungs to hold the smoke for a few seconds and sense the apple flavor before releasing each breath.

We sip our tea and people watch while I play with the settings on my camera.

And I snap this shot just as one of the bread vendors walks by. How impressive that he balances that whole tray on his head!

Mohammed calls our driver and we walk towards a pick-up spot. I continue snapping away at the local street life bustling outside the Bazaar.

The seating at this outdoor cafe reminds me of church pews:

Celebratory fireworks go off at one end of this square — we head in that direction and Mohammed asks what the display is for. Turns out a couple got engaged!

A few more nighttime shots outside of the Bazaar:

I am so grateful to have sampled the highlights of Cairo in a single day. This country has so much flavor and I look forward to a longer visit in the future — I’d love to visit the White Desert, Aswan, Abu Simbel, Luxor, the Nile Valley, and go diving in the Red Sea. I will be back, for sure.

Many thanks to Egypt Fun Tours for hosting my layover tour of Cairo. It was a privilege to experience this beautiful and ancient city with you! As always, opinions are my own.