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Alef Gallery Creative Interior Designers & Deco Retail
Founded in 1991 by Naguiba Meyassar, Alef Gallery is a true passion project that reflects its owner’s love for Egyptian craft and history. Naguiba and her daughter, Loulia, work with local artisans to create fabrics, furniture and decorative objects that celebrate their country’s rich cultural heritage. Among the many rooms in their Zamalek gallery, antique chandeliers and settees mixed with enormous painted trays and panels. One room is dedicated to hand-screened fabrics made of different cotton fabrics—from sheer panels perfect for lightweight curtains to heavier weaves for furniture upholstery. The family works with interior designers on custom colors and patterns and ships internationally.
Cotton Flower
Dima Rashid Jewelry
El Sultan Carpet School
Fair Trade Egypt
On the island of Zamalek Fair Trade Egypt is an organization that works toward empowering marginalized Egyptian artists and producers—who create traditional handicrafts and products rooted in Egyptian heritage—by providing them with export opportunities to access international markets through fair trade conditions. Currently, the organization partners with 43 national artisan groups of over 2,000 people, 90 percent of whom are women.
Kerdasa Shop
The place to go in Aswan for textiles.
Khan el-Khalili Market
Konouz Gift Shop NMEC
The Konouz brand was started to ensure that souvenirs were not only made in Egypt but also authentic replicas of pharaonic and Islamic items, certified as such by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Most of the major tourist sites in Egypt carry the brand—everything from typical tourist items like gift pouches, scarves, and marquetry backgammon boards to replicas of King Tut’s sarcophagus and throne.
MADU Cairo
The name of this Cairo concept on Zamalek is the pharaonic word for people, and it pays homage to the owner’s mission to promote products that are handmade and sourced directly from the makers. The branches in Cairo and Luxor (at Al Moudira hotel) stock beautiful ceramics from Fayoum, textiles from Malaika, as well as vintage textiles and cushions, hand-blown glass items, alabaster pieces, and fun finds like ikat sun hats and suzanis as well as delicate jewelry lines and fine Egyptian cotton bathrobes and kaftans.
Mamlouk Gallery
Locals say that this two-room shop, crammed with traditional local crafts and ceramics, is their one-stop shop for souk items without traveling to the chaos of the souk itself. Items range from simple ceramics and pottery to brass items, Islamic tiles, iron lanterns, small paintings, and jewelry.
Nefertari Natural Body Care Products
This small shop in Zamalek (as well as one at the Grand Egyptian Museum) stocks bath products that are all handmade in Egypt—from bath towels and loofahs to divine-smelling organic soaps, oils, and lotions. The olive oil soaps in small linen pouches embroidered with olives make great, inexpensive gifts to bring home.
Nevin Altmann Shop Zamalek
This brand dates back to 1988 when its founder took a trip to the Siwa Oasis in the west of Egypt and fell in love with the traditional embroidery work made by the area’s women. Knowing that without a market for their products, the ladies, who, for generations, had passed their skills down through generations, would lose this tradition, Altmann made it her mission to promote and distribute their products. Over the years, she has modernized and expanded the range to include traditional crafts from other Egyptian regions like Nubia, and her daughter has joined the business.
Rafah Jewelry
Sold in many of the Four Seasons hotels in Egypt, this jewelry brand sells one-of-a-kind designs using precious stones.
Siwa Creations
To find this boutique in Zamalek, you need to follow an alley and climb up a flight of stairs in what appears to be a residential building. Inside, you will discover a taste of the Siwa Oasis—an isolated Egyptian settlement known for its unique culture and beauty—through the crafts made by its community. There are lovely cotton blouses with embroidery, caftans and textiles, as well as stone crafts from various artists. Each gift tells a story.
What makes these creations particularly special is that they are made through the Siwa Women’s Artisanship Development Program, founded in the late 90s when Laila Neamatalla (Nakhala Jewels) started working with women of the Siwa Oasis community as part of a sustainable development initiative started by her brother, Dr. Mounir Neamatalla. The program aims to revive the art of Siwan embroidery, as well as to help Siwan women escape poverty and acquire independence.
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