- Title: Egypt's arabesque craftsmen struggle in declining market
- Date: 13th December 2018
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (DECEMBER 13, 2018) (REUTERS) ARABESQUE SHOPS AT KHAN EL-KHALILI MARKET IN OLD CAIRO ARABESQUE PLATES AND CHESS BOARDS ON DISPLAY CUSTOMERS INSIDE SHOP VARIOUS OF ITEMS MADE WITH ARABESQUE LATTICEWORK (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARABESQUE MAKER AND MERCHANT, MOHAMED HAMAMA, SAYING: "I've worked in the Arabesque industry after my father, grandfather and great grandfather. My great grandfather, Hussein, was a woodshop teacher in el-Elhamya Pasha School during the era of Mohamed Ali. I inherited this profession from my grandfather and my father. Thank God, (but) our industry is amongst those that are going extinct because of the workers, not the craftsmen of the profession. The craftsmen love it but the flaw is in the workers." CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT - NOVEMBER 24, 2018) (REUTERS) ARABESQUE CRAFTSMAN, MOHAMED DIAB, MARKING PIECE OF WOOD WITH PENCIL DIAB PIERCING WOODEN ROD WITH ELECTRIC SCREWDRIVER DIAB MAKING EQUAL MARKINGS ON WOODEN ROD STAR-SHAPED DECORATION MADE IN WOOD / DIAB SEEN THROUGH PATTERN CUTTING WOOD WITH ELECTRIC SAW DIAB CUTTING WOOD WITH ELECTRIC SAW VARIOUS OF DIAB ASSEMBLING PIECES OF ITEM TOGETHER DIAB USING HAMMER TO FIX PIECES IN PLACE DIAB ATTACHING PIECE OF ARABESQUE INTO LARGER LATTICEWORK PATTERN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARABESQUE CRAFTSMAN, MOHAMED DIAB, SAYING: "You see, these crafts have existed 1,400 or 1,300 years ago, in the same shape. Foreigners come here and are amazed when they see it. And these mashrabyias (traditional windows of old Arab homes) were made for specific purposes, not simply for aesthetic purposes. There is an aesthetic side and a practical purpose, at the same time. For example, if you enter Bayt al-Suhaymi, you will find mashrabyias made for women. Why? So that the woman can sit and watch the party or the place (below), without anyone seeing her." VARIOUS OF BUILDING WITH MASHRABIYA WINDOWS MADE OUT OF ARABESQUE LATTICEWORK ARABESQUE CRAFTSMAN, HUESSEIN MOHAMED, CARVING SHAPES INTO WOOD WITH CHISEL MOHAMED WORKING MOHAMED CARVING SHAPES INTO WOOD MOHAMED SPEAKING TO DIAB AND EXAMINING PIECE OF ARABESQUE MOHAMED'S FACE SEEN THROUGH LATTICEWORK SPEAKING VARIOUS OF MOHAMED CARVING SHAPES WOOD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARABESQUE CRAFTSMAN, HUESSEIN MOHAMED, SAYING: "It is all about using the mind, using the mind. It is not difficult, it is mostly mental work. You organise your objects and your tools, and you organise them correctly. They all look alike, but there are measurements that you must follow, you see? REPORTER ASKING: "Are you worried that the Arabesque trade will disappear?" "It [the craft of Arabesque] is already coming and going. We are not always working. Sometimes we can spend an entire month without work." CROWD WALKING THROUGH NARROW STREETS SURROUNDED BY BUILDINGS WITH WINDOWS VARIOUS OF MASHRABIYAS SEEN ON EXTERIOR OF BUILDINGS
- Embargoed: 27th December 2018 16:40
- Keywords: arabesque ancient Islamic art Islamic crafts Islamic latticework mashrabiya Arabic ornaments Arabic decoration
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA0019AS272T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Craftsmen in the Arabesque business, still turn rods of wood into carefully crisscrossed patterns and intricate designs but they fear that the craft may soon be left behind.
With skill and experience, craftsmen such as Mohamed Diab, works the wood to make latticework patterns that give away the talent of their makers.
The task requires carefully taking measurements, carving wood and shaping it. Afterwards, the various pieces are fixed into place with a hammer to ensure that the pieces holds together.
The objects created by the craftsmen include chairs, tables, chess boards and perhaps most celebrated, the Arabesque window, or mashrabiya in Arabic.
The mashrabiya is the traditional window of old Arabic homes and while it is no longer widely used today, it can still be found on the outer facade of homes in Old Cairo.
"These mashrabyias (traditional windows of old Arab homes) were made for specific purposes, not simply for aesthetic purposes. There is an aesthetic side and a practical purpose, at the same time," Diab said.
The design deliberately allowed people inside to see what was happening outside, but people outside could not really see inside.
"The woman can sit and watch the party or the place (below), without anyone seeing her," Diab said.
To complete the wooden designs, Arabesque craftsmen have to be attentive to every detail, working with great precision.
"It is all about using the mind, using the mind. It is not difficult, it is mostly mental work. You organise your objects and your tools, and you organise them correctly. They all look alike, but there are measurements that you must follow," craftsman Hussein Mohamed said.
But for Mohamed, consistently maintaining work has been a struggle, with few customers remaining. The only people showing interest in his work are tourists.
"We are not always working. Sometimes we can spend an entire month without work," he said, adding that work ebbs and flows at different times.
Fourth-generation Arabesque maker Mohamed Hamama said the industry is only waning among temporary workers, not its true craftsmen.
"Our industry is amongst those that are going extinct," he said. For now, craftsmen like him are fighting to keep their trade alive.
But reminders of the skill of previous craftsmen remain ever-present in Old Cairo such as in the famous Bayt al-Suhaymi Ottoman house, whose mashribyas serve as evidence that the woodwork was once popular in Egypt. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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