Abd El Zaher

Cairo


Cairo’s last working bookbinder also makes beautiful leather- and oil-paper-bound blank books, photo albums and diaries. Gold monogramming is included in the prices, which are heartbreakingly low considering the work that goes into them. Getting your own books bound starts around LE100 and takes a few days.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cairo attractions

1. Al Azhar Mosque

0.03 MILES

Founded in AD 970 as the centrepiece of the newly created Fatimid city, Al Azhar is one of Cairo’s earlier mosques, and its sheikh is considered the…

2. Wikala of Al Ghouri

0.08 MILES

Built in AD 1504 by the Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri, this wikala was originally designed as an inn for traders following the caravan routes from the east and…

3. Beit Zeinab Al Khatoun

0.1 MILES

Beit Zeinab Al Khatoun is a small but interesting Ottoman-era house with a rooftop affording superb views of the surrounding minaret-studded skyline. The…

4. Midan Al Hussein

0.12 MILES

The square between the two venerated mosques of Al Azhar and Sayyidna Al Hussein was one of the focal points of Mamluk Cairo and remains an important…

5. Mausoleum of Al Ghouri

0.14 MILES

The penultimate Mamluk sultan Al Ghouri built his funerary complex in 1504, on both sides of Sharia Al Muizz. At the age of 78, Al Ghouri was beheaded in…

6. Mosque-Madrassa of Al Ghouri

0.15 MILES

On the western side of Sharia Al Muizz, opposite the mausoleum, is the second part of Al Ghouri's funerary complex, the intimate and richly decorated…

7. Sharia Al Muizz Li Din Allah

0.16 MILES

Sharia Al Muizz, as it’s usually called, named after the Fatimid caliph who conquered Cairo in AD 969, was Cairo's grand thoroughfare, once chock-a-block…

8. Midaq Alley

0.16 MILES

This tiny alley is Islamic Cairo's literary star thanks to being immortalised in Naguib Mahfouz's famous novel named after the street. Although the…