Faces of Ramadan

For some reason we never think of qatayef (nut or cream-filled sweet dumplings) except during Ramadan, we also never drink hibiscus and qamar el-din (aprciot juice) any other time of the year. And just as there are foods and habits that are specific to Ramadan, there are several profession that are only peculiar to, or truly come to life during Ramadan. From the mesaharaty (the person calling on people to wake up for their sohour) to the qatayef seller, we celebrate those who make Ramadan special.

The Mesaharaty
“Es’ha ya nayem, wahed el-dayem, Ramadan Karim. Es’ha ya nayem, wahed el-razaq”
(Wake up, oh faster and praise Allah. Welcome Ramadan, the month of forgiveness)
—Traditional mesaharaty call

Zain Ali has been working as a mesaharaty since the early 1970s. Now 72, Ali used to roam around the neighborhoods of Agouza and Dokki with his father since he was 10 years old. “Ramadan has always been my favorite time of the year,” he says.

Throughout the rest of the year, Ali works as a security guard. Ali used to accompany his dad during Ramadan in summer while he was on school holiday. “My dad taught me the basics of the job, I inherited his strong, booming voice and memorized the names of the children to wake them up. Some of them grew up and got married in the same houses and now I call the names of their children.”

Considered one of the oldest Ramadan-only jobs in Egypt, the mesaharaty has been present in Egypt since the Fatimid Caliphate, and his job involved waking people up for sohour (meal before dawn) usually an hour or two before starting to fast. He would also chant traditional Ramadan songs and call people, particularly children, by name to wake them up.

“Many children used to come down to the street and walk with us carrying their fawanees [candlelit lanterns].” Ali explains that up until the 1980s, like many jobs, the mesaharaty was still what you would term a “traditional” Egyptian job.

But as the years passed, the job started gradually taking a more “modernized” form, particularly after the arrival of technology and smart phones. “The mesaharaty was an important job when people used to sleep early. Nowadays most people do not sleep until after dawn,” Ali says.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s the mesaharaty used to wear a special uniform—“the traditional Saedi (Upper Egyptian) galabeya,” and carried a small wooden drum, recalls Ali. Today most mesaharatys don’t wear galabeyas or carry special drums: “Today any drum or anything with a loud drum-like sound will do the job, people do not really pay much attention,” Ali adds, confiding that even though times have changed, he still feels proud to do the job and is pleased when people greet him as the mesaharaty.

Gift Shop Owners
Omar Fattouh has been a gift shop owner in Midan El-Gamea, Heliopolis since the 1980s. A couple of weeks before the holy month, he gives his shop a complete makeover: “It becomes more like a color festival, decorated with all kinds and shapes of fawanees and Ramadan ornaments,” he says.

“This year we have a high demand on khayamiya [traditional handmade patchwork] lanterns and tablecloths. I have already received a number of special orders who want to design their own fanous.”

Fattouh also stocks a wide variety of Ramadan gifts and lantern-shaped boxes for birthday presents during the holy months.

“Ramadan is always special and every year we must come up with something more creative. This year I feel that people are longing for the past, there is a sense of nostalgia in the air. Many people still ask if we sell the traditional candlelit lanterns that are rarely found anywhere today.” Lantern prices range from LE 20 to LE 300, depending on size, shape and material.

Kunafa and Qatayef Makers
One of the oldest kunafa (traditional cream, cheese or nut-filled pastry served with syrup) and qatayef makers in Heliopolis, El-Ahd El-Gedid was founded in 1927 by Hossam’s (not his real name) grandfather who was known for making the best kunafa in town, my grandmother, who’s been living in Heliopolis for over 55 years, tells me. The shop is the oldest kanafanis (kunafa makers) in Heliopolis and one of the oldest three in Cairo.

“The key to our success is we make kunafa and qatayef right in front of customers and they know for sure that it is fresh,” Hossam says. “It is quite manic, particularly with fasting, but Ramadan is our lucky season. We usually sell double or even triple what we sell in the other 11 months of the year.”

El-Ahd El-Gedid has six workers and another two usually join the team during Ramadan “because we make it fresh, the process goes on all day until all of it is sold,” Saeed, one of the workers, tells us. “In Ramadan the shop does not close at all, maybe for a couple of hours after dawn, but other than that it is open all the time.”

Unfortunately, this year many of the ingredients, such as milk and flour, cost double the price they did last year “However, we are doing our best to cope and we are still optimistic about this Ramadan,” Hossam adds. This year kunafa and qatayef prices range between LE 10 and LE 12 per kilogram.

Syrians in Ramadan
Selim El Syoufy is a 35-year-old Syrian business graduate who came to Egypt in 2012 after being forced to close down his family business in Homs, Syria. Starting from scratch, Syoufy decided to open his own Syrian restaurant. “That was my dream, but I knew I had to start small,” says Syoufy who opened a Syrian desserts kiosk in Heliopolis in 2012 followed by a second one in 2014.

In 2016, Syoufy founded his own Syrian food restaurant in Sixth of October City. “The official opening was in Ramadan, which gave us the chance to introduce a number of Syrian dishes that were mostly new to Egyptians such as fish and orange kebabs,” he says.

Unlike the traditional Syrian and Lebanese flavors Egyptians have gotten used to, this Ramadan Syoufy’s restaurant is presenting new dishes and appetizers such as mango paprika pickles.

A tradition most Syrian restaurants follow in Ramadan is offering specific food items for free. “This year we are introducing a new Syrian dessert called awamat, which are similar to the Egyptian zalabia (small dumplings made of sugar, flour and milk) but with a Syrian flavor. We are also offering a new cheese kunafa recipe,” he says. Unlike normal working hours from 11pm until midnight, they usually open at 2pm in Ramadan.

“Our chefs start cooking nonstop until sohour and most of my employees only get two hours of rest, including myself,” Syoufy adds. “It is pretty hectic but at the end of the day we want to deliver the best.”

The Fanous Maker
The traditional Egyptian fawanees (lanterns) date back to the Fatimid Era when lanterns were typically made out of copper. Over the years, Egyptians perfected the art of crafting lanterns made of either copper or wood.

Ahmed Abdul Meguid has been working as a lantern maker in Old Cairo since he was 18. Now 42, Abdul Meguid says that even though Chinese lanterns (mostly made of plastic) have flooded the Egyptian market for a while “Egyptians have always loved the original candle-lit fanous more than anything.”

Abdul Meguid starts to work on lanterns six months before Ramadan in a small workshop and does not need a lot of space for inspiration.

“I cannot work anywhere spacious, I feel most inspired in any small corner inside a workshop around Cairo’s old mosques and aisles,” he says. Taking approximately two to three months to finish a medium-sized copper lantern, Abdul Meguid makes various wooden and copper lanterns using a flame, “my main tool,” he stresses. Fawanees vary in shape, color and brightness.
“Anyone can learn the craft, but it’s rare to find someone who has real talent.