Caravanserai

This delightful shop, the only one of its kind on the West Bank, is kept by the friendly Hamdi and his family in a beautifully painted mudbrick house near Medinat Habu. He began travelling around Egypt and realised that making things was one of the few things poor people could do to earn money, so he decided to set up shop to encourage and help them, the women in particular. Hamdi buys almost everything people make, telling them what sells well, suggesting ways of improving their goods; above all he loves the people’s creativity. The shop has the beautiful pottery from the Western Oases, Siwan embroideries, amazing appliqué bags and lots of other crafts that can be found almost nowhere else in Egypt.