Under a rickety wooden cover a street lined with white-washed buildings and tall market stalls leads into the distance. Sunlight is straying into the half-darkness, lighting a sparkle in the silverware on the stalls and heightening the jewel-like quality of the colourful fabrics on display. Brightly clothed figures are shown resting and in conversation throughout the composition.

Müller, born in Bristol and for many years the city's best-known artist, visited Egypt in 1838-9. This was at the same time as David Roberts and both artists were in search of subject matter. Müller described Alexandria as 'like humanity put into a kaleidoscope' but soon admitted that Cairo was better still. The streets and bazaars excited him most, and the rich shadows and shafts of light he found there reminded him of Rembrandt. This picture is the recollection of a bazaar painted several years after his return home.