- Title: Egyptian knife shop thrives during Eid festivities
- Date: 4th September 2017
- Summary: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF OWNER OF KNIFE SHOP, ALI AL-SANAN'S, WORKSHOP CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES SEEN INSIDE WORKSHOP VARIOUS OF KNIVES ON DISPLAY INSIDE GLASS CASES KNIFE GRINDERS IN WORKSHOP SHARPENING KNIVES KNIFE BEING SHARPENED (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF KNIFE SHOP, ALI AL-SANAN, SAYING: "This is the craft, I was born into it, and started working as a knife grinder when I was around ten years old. Thank God I developed the craft to include selling various tools, mincing equipment, so we've developed it, we're not just knife grinders." VARIOUS OF KNIVES ON DISPLAY KNIFE BEING SHARPENED EMPLOYEES SHARPENING KNIVES EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS IN SHOP KNIVES ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF KNIFE SHOP, ALI AL-SANAN, SAYING: "We've been trying to close the gap with customers and decrease the prices that have sky rocketed recently. So if a product's price rose 100 percent, we try to cap it at a 20 percent increase just so the market can handle the new price. Last year the price of a sharpened knife was around 100 Egyptian pounds, but this year it reached around 150, so we try to keep it at 110 Egyptian pounds, just to close the gap a bit." EXTERIOR OF AL-SANAN'S SHOP KNIFE GRINDER WORKSHOP IN STREET KNIFE GRINDER SHARPENING KNIFE KNIFE GRINDER WORKING KNIFE BEING SHARPENED WORKSHOP CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) SHOPPERS QUEUING AT MEAT STALL VARIOUS OF BUTCHER CHOPPING MEAT WITH LARGE KNIFE SHOPPERS QUEUING
- Embargoed: 18th September 2017 13:19
- Keywords: Egypt knife shop Eid al-Adha knives used for slaughter cattle slaughter business booms
- Location: ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Religion/Belief,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016X6I9UD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:In a small workshop in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria, Ali al-Sanan and his team of knife grinders work tirelessly in the lead up to the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday.
The annual holiday is the second Eid in the Muslim calendar year and marks the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God's command.
Once a year, al-Sanan's workshop buzzes with customers shopping for new knives or looking to sharpen old ones which they use in the slaughtering of cows or sheep to symbolize this sacrifice.
Founded by his grandfather in the early 1930s, Ali's shop is one of the few remaining that still sharpens knives using traditional methods.
Workers move the knife back and forth on a marble wheel called a grind stone, which spins on a motor and is constantly soaked in water to avoid sparks.
"This is the craft, I was born into it, and started working as a knife grinder when I was around ten years old. But I've developed the craft to include selling various tools such as mincing equipment, so we've developed it, we're not just knife grinders," al-Sanan said.
Al-Sanan imports his blades from Switzerland, Japan, and China, and manufactures them locally.
Swiss blades had always been the most popular among customers, however more recently, they've been resorting to cheaper Chinese-imported blades.
Like many other businesses around the country, al-Sanan has had to adjust to an increase in prices since the Egyptian government floated the currency last year.
The government implemented a series of austerity measures following the float, which led to record-high rates of inflation and as a result, a surge in prices of goods and services across the country.
"We've been trying to close the gap with customers and decrease the prices that have sky rocketed recently. So if a product's price rose 100 percent, we try to cap it at a 20 percent increase just so the market can handle the new price. Last year the price of a sharpened knife was around 100 Egyptian pounds, but this year it reached around 150, so we try to keep it at 110 Egyptian pounds, just to close the gap a bit, he said.
Eid al-Adha is held at the end of the yearly Haj pilgrimage in Mecca. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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