So begins my short story “The Angel of Khan el-Khalili” which appears in the anthology Clockwork Cairo: Steampunk Tales of Egypt. No, to find the Angel of Khan el-Khalili means going to the market late at night, when most of the city have long retired to their beds, leaving the souk to the curious, the adventurous, and the desperate-like you. Not even after the first stars have appeared and, beneath the glare of gaslight, hawkers practice their best chat up lines to seduce idle wanderers to their stalls-where everything from counterfeit medieval antiques to drive shafts for automated wheel carriages are up for sale. Not when the sun goes down, and Cairo’s masses spill out into the opening shops, where soot smudged factory workers and well-groomed ministerial clerks mingle at open air coffeehouses to debate local politics. If you want to find the Angel of Khan el-Khalili you have to make your way to the market at night. And Angels that grant miracles–of a sort. A few words on inspiration, plot and world building in my short story “The Angel of Khan el-Khalili.” A little bit Steampunk.
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