Other fun aspects of Egyptian cities are the pervasive markets, called "souks". Basically a combination of flea market and shopping mall, they're the place to buy your fruits, vegetables, spices, carpets, and souvenirs. Absolutely everything can be found, and all the prices are negotiable. Being of few needs, I didn't get much practice in haggling, explaining why I was gouged the few times I actually needed something. Thankfully Egypt is relatively cheap (but not very), so it all balanced out in the end.
One thing I found surprising about the souks were there permanence: elsewhere, street markets felt slapped-together in the dead of night (often taken back apart in the morning). However, the souks seemed very established, with shops more or less having fixed positions enclosed in the building-bases.