Colourful carpets line the walls, exotic-looking hookahs - a water pipe for smoking flavoured tobacco - are stacked in the window and copper coffee pots glisten in the light.

But this is no bazaar in Cairo, but a new store in downtown Hamilton, the brainchild of Donna Batista and Raasat Hamid which opened its doors last week.

And the couple have found that there is a taste for the orient in Bermuda - with their exotic-looking merchandise flying off the shelves.

"We have had a very good first week," said Ms Batista. "100 per cent better than I thought it would be."

Ms Batista and Mr. Hamid are already well-known on the Island after Ms Batista opened Cafe Cairo last year, Bermuda's first Egyptian restaurant, where Mr. Hamid works in the kitchens.

And they have had so much praise for the decor in the lavishly decked-out restaurant that they hit on the idea of importing Egyptian goods for the Bermuda market. Desert Rose, which opened on March 22, is the product of Ms Batista and Mr. Hamid's brainstorming ideas.

The couple travelled to Cairo on a buying trip earlier this year, and bought up enough stock to open their doors.

The couple met in Bermuda four years ago and fell in love. Ms Batista was Mr. Hamid's boss - he worked at the Wedge and Divot restaurant she ran.

But soon they had thought of a better way for the Southampton golf-course restaurant to bring in more customers by transforming it into an Egyptian den, with cushions scattered on the floor on oriental rugs, dim lighting and a cosy atmosphere. Bermuda had never seen anything like it.

They changed the name of the place to Cafe Cairo, and have not looked back since.

The popular restaurant with its authentic cuisine and hookah water pipes bubbling out the smells of flavoured tobaccos was just the beginning for the couple.

Ms Batista has so fallen in love with Egypt that not only has she visited the country on many occasions but also taken up belly dancing.

"I've been to Egypt three times and love it. I went for the first time four years ago," said Ms Batista.

"I went for the first time in 2001 for two weeks. Then last year went again for a month. The last trip was in February, when we did all the buying for the shop."

The partners bought their wares at the huge Khan aL-Khalili market in Cairo, which is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and sells everything under the sun. "Except camels," said Ms Batista.

"I love the markets and bartering and can speak a little Arabic.

"I can say a few things. Like hello, thank you, but I can understand more than I can say."

All of the business products are shipped from Cairo to London, then across the Atlantic to Bermuda and next week Mr. Hamid is scheduled to go to Cairo again to buy more stock.

Ms Batista told The Royal Gazette that she bought all of the stock in the store for $3,000 - which included customs tariffs into Bermuda, but said she still didn't know what mark-up she was going to put on the imports.

"It depends on what the piece is made of.

"For example if it is made of a certain stone, it would be marked by a certain percentage, but if it is made of another stone, then it would be marked up by another percentage."

Ms Batista admits to being new to the world of small retail businesses, having operated a restaurant for the last four years.

While The Royal Gazette was at the Desert Rose, belly dancer Gwendolin Ward popped in for a demonstration.

Mrs. Ward, who has been belly dancing for five years, teaches the ancient art at Cafe Cairo on Sundays.

But Mrs. Ward said that she was afraid she did not learn to belly dance anywhere exotic, but simply in a community centre in Florida.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Ward, who is blond, thought she could blend right in the Middle East, but "she would have to cover her head".

Mrs. Ward teams up with fellow dancer Niki Swan at Cafe Cairo to entertain guests at large gatherings at the restaurant.

Even Ms Batista likes to try her hand at belly dancing. "I love to try and do it.

Especially when we are in Egypt and see it on TV, you cannot help but want to try it. I have seen live shows in Egypt and that is an experience," she said.

The store also happens to stock belly-dancing outfits for those who would like to try it at home.

Ms Batista used her own capital for Desert Rose, keeping Cafe Cairo as a separate enterprise.

"This shop is my venture," she said, adding that they sell everything there from cheap hookahs and rugs to expensive furniture.

The smallest water pipes are sold for as little as $40, while those made out of steel can be bought for $85.

To accompany the hookahs, they sell flavoured tobaccos - peach, melon, strawberry, apple, coconut, pineapple, lemon and cappuccino.

Mr. Hamid said he sells all natural Egyptian spices like cinnamon sticks for cooking and for use in hot drinks or Hibiscus petals, the main ingredient for Egypt's most popular drink.

They also sell hot peppers, saffron, ginger and cardamom as well as aromatic pure oils that can be burned with water in glass or china holders.

The most popular fragrance of oil is jasmine, which can be stored in small clay pots that soak up the oil and change colour, or perfume bottles which start at $10. Mother of pearl jewellery boxes and tables and chairs made of mahogany as well as papyrus, the original form of paper used by the ancient Egyptians, are on sale.

Handmade carpets are available, the largest carpet at $65 while silver jewellery starts at $20 and alabaster ornaments at $12.

"People are happy with the prices," Mr. Hamid said.

"Now when people want to design their homes like Egyptians, they know where to come," Ms Batista said.