Souk al Kheiymiya

Renovations have made me focus on doing a few of those long-promised chores – like sorting and digitalizing photos from previous travels.  So here I am with a few notes from our trip to Egypt in 2004.  The main bulk of posts, the historical context that is, can be found elsewhere so that I can focus on post-2010 textile thoughts, updates & connections here.  Since we travelled, there has been something of a “revival’ of interest in the Tentmakers of Cairo, so there are plenty of sites to research if you plan to visit.

Street of Tentmakers

Deep in the old streets of Cairo not far from the Medieval gate Bab Zuweila (1092), you can find Souk al Kheiymiya, the street of Tentmakers.  I had first read about them when doing some research for our trip to Egypt and I hoped it would be possible to see their beautiful applique work.  Egypt has a long history as a textile producing country.  Clothing was important to them as was the use of linens in their mummification process.  Embellishments on tombs attest to this.  The earliest known existing applique is a canopy of leather dating from 980 BC.  Textiles made from fibre unfortunately do not often stand the rigours of time. 

Bab Zuweila & Bananas

Tents are the customary housing for Berber people who live nomadic lives.  They too had a demand for decorative tents and sought the fine applique work of the Kheiymiya souks.  Although tent making was the artisans main business, there was often occasion to produce smaller items for a ready sale to locals, travelling merchants and tourists who have visited Khan al-Khalili over its 700 year history. 

Fabrics are easily transported and light, perfect for visitors to Egypt.  They can be made to meet demand for small or large pieces.  This was the perfect solution to a tourist rush generated by Howard Carter’s discoveries in 1922.  King Tutankhamun became an immediate poster boy and skilled applique stitchers could cash in by making and selling designs from Pharaonic tombs in busy markets across Egypt. 

Men stitch in small shops in the Cairo souk as they have done since Fatimid times, making Arabic tents. Master craftsmen instruct apprentices in the art of fine applique.  Businesses are all family run.  Designs are mostly geometric in keeping with Islamic principles and are often drawn from the walls and floors of nearby mosques.  Others are completed in flowing Arabic script or show narrative Pharaonic scenes.  The chosen design is sketched on a template, which is then perforated.  Carbon powder is rubbed over the template and the design transferred to a fabric base.  Skilled needleworkers then stitch pieces of coloured fabric to the base to create a design. 

 

Sacks of Garlic

Sadly, I did not find any quality work when I visited the souk in 2004 and was unwilling to buy something just to have a piece of the tentmaker’s applique.  In hindsight, it would have been better to have sought prior recommendation.  Things have changed since then, thankfully, and a few of my friends have returned home with stunning pieces.  I am left with a piece my MIL was planning to throw out...  The stitching on that is even worse but it’s a happy reminder of our 2004 adventures. 

Jenny Bowker has provided instructions on how to find the Tentmakers.  Having lived there, she has taken a special interest in these applique craftsmen; her own award winning work being of the same technique. 

I love this Berber piece in the British Museum too. It goes to show that wonderful pieces can be found as long as you are prepared to search and take your time.  Difficult for a fleeting afternoon visit but at least it was worth it to soak up the ambiance of a traditional craft being practiced in a centuries old bazaar.