Khan el-Khalili

This guide to Khan el-Khalili in Cairo traces the market back to the 1380s, when a Mamluk stable master named Jaharkas al-Khalili decided a sacred Fatimid tomb on this ground had outlived its usefulness and tore it down to build a trading depot. You'll hear what he is said to have done with the caliphs' remains, and how his khan grew into one of the great crossroads of the Islamic world. Listen for the coppersmiths' stalls still working the same narrow lanes today.