Watch This : Seasons & Streets “From Egyptian Canal to Ramadan Bazaar”

Ramadan Kareem,

It may be wartime, but before we get busy with everything that comes with it, let’s take a short break and watch this brief video clip from Seasons & Streets about Cairo’s Ramadan bazaar in El-Sayeda Zeinab in 2026.

You have already seen the photos from there, so now it is time for the video. "Choose English subtitles"

I first wrote about this bazaar—or rather the street where it is held annually—mainly El-Sadd El-Barani Street, officially known as Youssef El-Sebai Street, back in 2023. But this year, we take a step further and look at the history of the market itself and how it grew into the largest seasonal makeshift market in Cairo, if not in Egypt.

Historically, the Sayeda Zeinab Ramadan bazaar was not the original center of Ramadan lantern production.

The historic hub of khayamiya (traditional tentmaking appliqué) and lantern craftsmanship was Tah’t Al-Rab‘, near Bab Zuweila, an area associated with these crafts since the Fatimid and Mamluk eras.

The market’s gradual shift and expansion toward Port Said Street and the surroundings of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque—also known locally as El-Sadd Street—became particularly noticeable in the mid-20th century, especially during the 1940s and 1950s.

Understanding the history of Port Said Street itself helps put things into perspective.

The street was originally known as Al-Khaleeg Al-Masri (the Egyptian Canal).

Egyptian houses on the Egyptian Canal in the 19th century 

The Egyptian Canal—whose history stretches back to ancient Egyptian times and continued through the Islamic era—was an artificial waterway that transferred Nile water into western parts of Cairo, particularly Islamic Cairo.

It was not filled in and converted into a roadway until the late 19th century, around 1897.

El-Sayeda Zeinab Street in the early 1900s 
From British army archives

By the standards of historic Cairo, this means the bazaar in its current form is relatively modern.

After the canal was filled, merchants gradually moved out of the narrow side alleys of Tah’t Al-Rab‘ and began displaying their goods along the pavement of the newly created street in front of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque.

During this period, the main activity revolved around seasonal tents (shawader) selling dried Ramadan goods (yameesh) and traditional tin lanterns.

El-Sayeda Zeinab Ramadan Bazaar for Ramadan lanterns

According to press archives, the area around Berket Al-Fil and Port Said Street in Sayeda Zeinab became the country’s main distribution center for Ramadan lanterns during the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, it even surpassed the Al-Hussein district in terms of popular retail sales.

Until the 1970s, handmade lanterns—crafted from tin and glass—remained the dominant speciality of the market.

The shift toward a broader range of goods—from dried foods and plastic decorations to electrical appliances and clothing—accelerated during the 1980s, particularly with the arrival of imported Chinese lanterns. 

This transformation gradually turned the area from a specialised artisanal hub into a comprehensive seasonal commercial center fueled by enormous Ramadan purchasing power. 

For a couple of decades, the bazaar seemed to lose its vitality in the face of Chinese plastic lanterns and the rise of supermarkets. 

But in 2015 came a pivotal decision: banning the import of Chinese Ramadan lanterns in an effort to preserve the traditional craft. 

Egyptian tradition tin and glass lanterns

The move sparked a revival of both the Egyptian handmade lantern and the El-Sayeda Zeinab Ramadan bazaar.

And if you are an old friend or longtime follower of Egyptian Chronicles, you already know that.

Anyhow, the Chinese lanterns did not disappear, as they are still being imported as toys.

That's not a Ramadan lantern but rather a toy from China 

There are no fully accurate official statistics, as much of the activity falls within the informal economy.

However, commercial estimates suggest that during peak season—especially the week before Ramadan and the first week of the month—the Sayeda Zeinab area receives hundreds of thousands of visitors daily.

On the eve of the official moon sighting, the number of visitors can exceed half a million people in a single night, arriving from across Egypt’s governorates.

Sayeda Zeinab, together with Al-Hussein and Al-Ataba, forms what traders often describe as the “golden triangle” of Ramadan commerce.

Estimates from the Chamber of Commerce suggest that lanterns and Ramadan decorations sold in this area account for roughly 20–25% of total Ramadan decoration sales nationwide.

The bazaar also provides seasonal employment for more than 10,000 workers and traders, including street vendors, tent operators, and suppliers.

In the ten days preceding Ramadan alone, the district is estimated to receive between 300,000 and 500,000 visitors per day.

Today, the Sayeda Zeinab Ramadan bazaar is widely considered the largest makeshift seasonal bazaar in Cairo in terms of the total value of displayed goods. Sales generated by the tents along this single street are estimated to reach millions of Egyptian pounds within just twenty days.