El Fishawy Cafe

Opened in 1797 and continuously operated by the same family for over seven generations, El Fishawy is the most famous traditional ahwa in Egypt. Nestled in an alley of Khan el-Khalili, it serves Turkish-style coffee and sand-brewed tea beneath Ottoman-era mirrors and mashrabiya woodwork. Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz was a regular for decades, writing parts of the Cairo Trilogy in its back rooms. The cafe never closes, welcoming guests day and night every day of the year.