Il Mercato Italian Street in Sharm. An ideal place for evening strolls

Sharm el Sheikh, which I and millions of other tourists call Sharm el Sheikh by habit, is a young city and cannot boast of any special historical sights. But to entertain tourists it is not enough to build shopping centers, you need to give a nice picture. The Arabs have reached this point and started to build up the city in a variety of styles. One such street is the pedestrianized Il Mercato in the southern part of the city.

On this street there are many things: travel agencies and car rentals, hotels and restaurants, stores and even a McDonald’s. But during the day Arabs continue to run around here, pestering you with offers to come in and buy the next junk, and in the evening, when most of the establishments close, the city is enveloped by night and the lights come on….

The only McDonald's in Sharm is on Il Mercato street — I can’t imagine who would go to McDonald’s while vacationing in Egypt….. Although they do say they have good ice cream.

But the restaurants are quite cozy and untypical for the Arab world. Prices here are higher than in other places, but still relatively low for Europeans. But, to be honest, we never tasted anything edible here.

One of the many European restaurants in Sharm el Sheikh — One of the many European-style restaurants. It is valued by many vacationers precisely for the absence of the atmosphere typical of the Arab world, which is unusual for us.

Shopping is possible here. Moreover, it is one of the few places where you can really buy something “branded” and not a fake. But no one comes to Egypt for that 😂

There is also a bank and ATM (automated teller machine) at the beginning of the street with an adequate exchange rate, which we used. If you don’t take neighborhoods for locals, it’s a great option to sell currency or withdraw money from your card.

Very good lighting makes this street much safer at any time of day.

It is so pleasant to stroll here before going to bed that you could talk about a wonderful public space, if it were not for one thing: there are no benches for resting. The logic is simple: passers-by should come and sit in their restaurants and hide from the heat in their air-conditioned boutiques.

However, people have a great rest near fountains and on fences and parapets. The warm climate allows them to do so.

You involuntarily start to lift your head and look at the details. It is extremely rare for this to happen with a “new-model”.

Here, for example, is an archway imitating rough brickwork, with stone lions’ heads…. And lights that make it look like you’re indoors instead of outdoors.

On the whole, the street disposes to serial “production” of photos for Instagram, and in the evening, with the illumination looks quite good. Of course, the feeling of falseness does not leave you and you realize that it’s all “novodel”, but you need to walk somewhere, not only on the beach to lie down, right? It’s a good place for a slow promenade.