Bookstores in Cairo
If you judge a town by its bookshops, Cairo, Cairo gives you 45 to judge by. That's 45 bookshops mapped around Cairo, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide. Staff picks shelves are the fastest way to read a shop's personality.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Cairo (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include مكتبة ديوان and مكتبة مدبولى, plus مكتبة الشروق. If a bookshop's missing from Cairo's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Cairo bookstore lineup
45 mapped within about 40 km:
مكتبة ديوان
Bookstore
مكتبة ديوان is Bookstore.
مكتبة مدبولى
Bookstore
مكتبة مدبولى is Bookstore.
مكتبة الشروق
Bookstore
مكتبة الشروق is Bookstore.
القاهرة
أوميجا
Bookstore
أوميجا is Bookstore.
The AUC Press Bookstores
Bookstore
The AUC Press Bookstores is Bookstore on 16 Mohamed Ibn Thakib Street.
16 Mohamed Ibn Thakib Street
ديوان
Bookstore
ديوان — Bookstore on 159 26th of July Street. Also worth knowing about ديوان: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
159 26th of July Street
Phone: +2 02 27362598
Sufi
Bookstore
Sufi is Bookstore on 12 Al-Sayed Al-Bakry.
12 Al-Sayed Al-Bakry
Beta Bookstore
Bookstore
Beta Bookstore is Bookstore.
Bikya - Second hand books and coffee
Bookstore
Bikya - Second hand books and coffee is Bookstore on 40 El Hadaek Street.
40 El Hadaek Street
Beta Bookshop
Bookstore
Beta Bookshop is Bookstore.
BookSpot
Used bookstore
BookSpot — Used bookstore on 70 شارع 9. Also worth knowing about BookSpot: the map lists its hours as 10:00 - 18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
70 شارع 9
Hours: 10:00 - 18:00
Phone: +201205336657
Mazin Bookstore (Used Books)
Bookstore
Mazin Bookstore (Used Books) is Bookstore on 29.
29
Volume 1
Bookstore
Volume 1 is Bookstore on شارع 206, Cairo. Volume 1 also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 09:30-22:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
شارع 206, Cairo, 11728
Hours: Mo-Su 09:30-22:00
Phone: +20225198831
مكتبة وكشك اللمبى
Bookstore
مكتبة وكشك اللمبى — Bookstore.
زيروكس
Bookstore
زيروكس — Bookstore.
مكتبات برناسوس
Bookstore
مكتبات برناسوس — Bookstore, found on المحور المركزى طريق النصر in مدينة 6 أكتوبر.
المحور المركزى طريق النصر, مدينة 6 أكتوبر, 12596
مكتبة ركن الطلبة
Bookstore
مكتبة ركن الطلبة — Bookstore, found on No 4 in مدينة 6 أكتوبر.
No 4, مدينة 6 أكتوبر, 12573
مكتبة الفجالة
Bookstore
مكتبة الفجالة — Bookstore.
سمير وعلى
Bookstore
سمير وعلى — Bookstore.
مكتبة السندباد
Bookstore
مكتبة السندباد is Bookstore.
مكتبات ألف
Bookstore
مكتبات ألف is Bookstore on ميدان جهينه داخل مول العرب, مدينة 6 أكتوبر.
ميدان جهينه داخل مول العرب, مدينة 6 أكتوبر
Abdel Zaher
Bookstore
Abdel Zaher is Bookstore. Abdel Zaher also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
Cairo
Sanabel
Bookstore
Sanabel — Bookstore, found on 5 شارع البطل أحمد عبد العزيز in Cairo.
5 شارع البطل أحمد عبد العزيز, Cairo
i.Dia
BookstoreRun by Diaa sorour
i.Dia is Bookstore run by Diaa sorour on villa 29 شارع محمد نجيب.
villa 29 شارع محمد نجيب
The Broker
Bookstore
The Broker — Bookstore.
حمدى المحلاوى
Bookstore
حمدى المحلاوى is Bookstore.
Maktabty
Bookstore
Maktabty — Bookstore.
El-Maktaba
Bookstore
El-Maktaba is Bookstore.
دار المعارف
Bookstore
دار المعارف — Bookstore.
القاهرة
مكتبة الحجاز
Bookstore
مكتبة الحجاز is Bookstore on الحجاز.
الحجاز
المكتبة القومية
Bookstore
المكتبة القومية is Bookstore on elhegaz.
elhegaz
Lehnert & Landrock
Bookstore
Lehnert & Landrock — Bookstore.
القاهرة
L'Orientaliste
Bookstore
L'Orientaliste — Bookstore, found on 15 شارع طلعت حرب in القاهرة. Also worth knowing about L'Orientaliste: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th,Su 10:00-20:00; Fr 10:00-16:00; Sa off.
15 شارع طلعت حرب, القاهرة
Hours: Mo-Th,Su 10:00-20:00; Fr 10:00-16:00; Sa off
مكتبه تبارك
Bookstore
مكتبه تبارك is Bookstore on 37 شارع الاتحاد.
37 شارع الاتحاد
مكتبة الرشيدي
Bookstore
مكتبة الرشيدي — Bookstore.
Camel Book Store
Bookstore
Camel Book Store — Bookstore.
الكتب خان
Bookstore
الكتب خان is Bookstore on 13 شارع 206. الكتب خان also notes on the map: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
13 شارع 206
Phone: +20 10 00580292
Diwan
Bookstore
Diwan — Bookstore.
متجر الكتب النصية
Bookstore
متجر الكتب النصية is Bookstore.
Tanmia Bookstore
Bookstore
Tanmia Bookstore — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Tanmia Bookstore: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Phone: +20 106 377 5334
ذا ريدرز كورنر
Bookstore
ذا ريدرز كورنر is Bookstore. ذا ريدرز كورنر also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 11:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
Hours: Mo-Fr 11:00-18:00
Phone: +20223928801
مكتبة موكا moka store
Bookstore
مكتبة موكا moka store is Bookstore on 149a. مكتبة موكا moka store also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 12:05-19:00.
149a
Hours: Mo-Su 12:05-19:00
دار الكتب المقدسة
Bookstore
دار الكتب المقدسة — Bookstore.
Lehnert & Landrock
Bookstore
Lehnert & Landrock — Bookstore on 44 شارع شريف باشا;شارع شريف. Also worth knowing about Lehnert & Landrock: the map lists its hours as 10:00-19:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
44 شارع شريف باشا;شارع شريف, 11513
Hours: 10:00-19:00
Phone: +2023927606
بيت الكتب
Bookstore
بيت الكتب — Bookstore.
What the map tells us about bookstores in Cairo
6 of the 45 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
4 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
The Cairo bookstore crawl
Making a day of it in Cairo? Work this order: مكتبة ديوان, مكتبة مدبولى, مكتبة الشروق, أوميجا, The AUC Press Bookstores on 16 Mohamed Ibn Thakib Street, ديوان on 159 26th of July Street, Sufi on 12 Al-Sayed Al-Bakry, and Beta Bookstore. That's the bookstore crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 37 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Cairo
The regulars' playbook for Cairo's bookshops:
- Ask the booksellers at مكتبة ديوان. A good bookseller lives for the question 'what should I read next?' Give them three books you loved and watch them work.
- Ask for the out-of-print hunters at مكتبة مدبولى. Some used shops will hunt down out-of-print titles for you. It takes patience, but the find is worth it.
- Learn your editions. A first edition, first printing is the collectible one. Booksellers will show you how to check the copyright page.
- Don't overlook the classics wall. Every shop has one. Cheap editions of the books everyone claims to have read — your chance to actually read them.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Cairo — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Cairo can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 45, or a bookstore we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 45 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Cairo: 45 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.