Traditional Crafts

I had the pleasure of being taken to a couple of places today, where traditional crafts are being encouraged. The first stop was to see the production of stunning ceramic ware & tiles. A lot of the designs were traditional ones that we had seen in museum pieces, but were now being given an airing in a contemporary way. I would love to have bought some bowls, but the getting it home issue put a stopper on that! From there we went to a site where part of it is dedicated to the production of Mashrahbiyya screen work & inlaid wood, now being used for doors & decorative panelling. The other section was where the Egyptian variant of 'headlight' windows are produced. The lead is replaced by plasterwork, all meticulously cut out from a plaster slab, & recycled glass is glued to the back before being set in place with more plaster. The result is STUNNING! Our traditional crafts visit had Souk El Fustat as its last stop. This place SHOULD be a mecca for tourists. It is hassle/haggle free & the shops are filled with artisan products, all reasonably priced & with a good mix of contemporary revamping of old craft skills, as well as more traditional styles. I particularly fell in love with the Akmeem embroidery & was NOT happy that I had very little paper money left & so couldn't buy a piece! (Had HAD to buy a piece of Siwan beaded embroidery earlier in the day in a handcraft shop opposite the Gayer Anderson. REALLY struggling not being able to use master card!!!!!!) It is extremely distressing to see some of these shops already unmanned because there are no tourists here. This sort of place is IDEAL for foreigners to do their shopping, whilst still supporting small, homegrown craft industries. But without peope to buy the products, this Souk is doomed. Agonizing reality! I just HOPE that things pick up soon...and that some of you reading this, just may want to put Egypt on your travel plan, & shopping here...on that 'to do' list!!!!!!