Hurghada Markets: the Old Market, Fish and Fruit Markets — What to Buy and How to Haggle

The fish market in Hurghada is one of the tastiest places in the resort: you choose your fish at the stall and half an hour later eat it grilled in a little restaurant next door. Nearby in El Dahar are the Old Market with spices and souvenirs and the fruit market. Below: where to find what, what to buy, how to haggle and what to avoid.

The Old Market in El Dahar

The lanes of El Dahar around the mosque are the Old Market: shops with pyramids of spices, sacks of hibiscus and mint, piles of galabeyas and scarves, shishas, lamps and silver. It smells of cardamom and roasting coffee, and the sellers invite you to “just have a look”.

The fish market in Hurghada

The fresh Red Sea catch: sea bream, red mullet, snapper, squid and prawns. You choose the fish at the stall, it is weighed and taken straight to a small restaurant next door, where they grill or bake it for a small fee. It is one of the tastiest and cheapest dinners in Hurghada.

Our guides recommend coming towards the evening while the choice is still good, and checking the eyes and gills: fresh fish has clear eyes and bright red gills. Agree the price per kilo and for cooking before the fish goes to the kitchen.

The fruit market

Mangoes (in season in summer and early autumn), guavas, dates, oranges, bananas and, in winter, strawberries. Prices are several times lower than in the shops near the hotels. Wash fruit with bottled water before eating.

What to buy at Hurghada’s markets

• Spices: cumin, coriander, cardamom, kofta spice mix.
• Hibiscus (karkade) and mint tea.
• Dates and sweets.
• Egyptian cotton: towels and T-shirts.
• Aromatic oils and incense.
• Papyrus — in reputable shops, with a receipt.

How to haggle at the market

1. Ask the price and do not agree straight away.
2. Offer roughly a half or a third of it.
3. If the seller will not budge, walk away politely — they will often follow you with a new price.
4. Check the currency: pounds, dollars or euros.
5. Do not pick up goods unless you intend to buy, and do not accept “gifts”.

It is easiest to pay in Egyptian pounds in small notes — where to change money is in our article “Currency in Egypt”. A couple of Arabic words help too — “bekam?” (how much?) and “ghali” (expensive); more in our mini phrasebook.

Visiting the market with a guide

If the market feels too hectic, take a Hurghada city tour: the guide will show you the mosque, the Coptic church and the market and tell you what fair prices are. Other places in town are in our article “Things to do in Hurghada”.

Near the markets you can also pop into the Hurghada antiquities museum — it is small, and an hour is enough.

How to get to El Dahar by taxi is in our article “Taxis in Egypt”.