Egypt family keeps alive kiswah tradition

From the 13th century, Egyptian artisans made the giant cloth in sections, which authorities transported to Mecca with great ceremony. Celebrations would mark the processions through cities, flanked by guards and clergymen as Egyptians sprinkled rosewater from balconies above.
From the 13th century, Egyptian artisans made the giant cloth in sections, which authorities transported to Mecca with great ceremony. Celebrations would mark the processions through cities, flanked by guards and clergymen as Egyptians sprinkled rosewater from balconies above.

Under the steady hum of a ceiling fan, Ahmed Othman weaves golden threads through black fabric, creating Koranic verses, a century after his grandfather's work adorned the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque. A ceremonial hanging of the kiswah over the cubic structure symbolises the launch of the hajj annual pilgrimage

Othman's family used to be honoured with the task of producing the kiswah. His family's creations would be despatched in a camel caravan to Islam's holiest site in western Saudi Arabia towards which Muslims across the world turn to pray.

Now, Othman keeps the tradition alive in a small workshop, tucked above the labyrinthine Khan al-Khalili bazaar in central Cairo, where mass-produced souvenirs line the alleys. The area is historically home to Egypt's traditional handicrafts, but artisans face growing challenges.

Materials, mostly imported, have become expensive, particularly as Egypt faces economic woes and a devalued currency. Plummeting purchasing power makes high quality hand-crafted goods inaccessible to the average Egyptian, while master craftspeople find it hard to hand down their skills as young people turn to more lucrative jobs.

This wouldn't be the case "if there was good money in the craft", Othman sighed, hunched over one of the many tapestries that fill his workshop. Sheets of black and brown felt are covered in verses and prayers, delicately embroidered in silver and gold. Every stitch echoes the "sacred ritual" Othman's grandfather was entrusted with in 1924. "For a whole year, 10 craftsmen" would work on the kiswah that covers the Kaaba which pilgrims circumambulate, using silver thread in a lengthy labour of love.

Egyptian artisan Ahmed Othman has kept alive a family tradition of embroidering replicas of the kiswa in gold nearly a century after it was entrusted to him (photo: Khaled DESOUKI/AFP)
Othman's family used to be honoured with the task of producing the kiswah. His family's creations would be despatched in a camel caravan to Islam's holiest site in western Saudi Arabia towards which Muslims across the world turn to pray. Now, Othman keeps the tradition alive in a small workshop, tucked above the labyrinthine Khan al-Khalili bazaar in central Cairo

Sprinkled rosewater

From the 13th century, Egyptian artisans made the giant cloth in sections, which authorities transported to Mecca with great ceremony. Celebrations would mark the processions through cities, flanked by guards and clergymen as Egyptians sprinkled rosewater from balconies above.

Othman's grandfather, Othman Abdelhamid, was the last to supervise a fully Egyptian-made kiswah in 1926. From 1927, manufacturing began to move to Mecca in the nascent Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which would fully take over production of the kiswah in 1962.

The family went on to embroider military regalia for Egyptian and foreign dignitaries, including former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat.

"In addition to our work with military rank embroideries, my father started embroidering Koranic verses on tapestries," and then reproducing whole sections of the kiswah. Clients began flooding in for "exact replicas of the kiswah, down to the last detail".

Though today they offer small tableaus for as little as 100 Egyptian pounds (about $5), massive customised orders go for several thousand dollars, such as replicas of the Kaaba door, which Othman proudly claims are indistinguishable from the originals in Mecca.

 The kiswa created by Othman's family would be despatched in a camel caravan to Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia towards which Muslims across the world turn to pray (photo: Khaled DESOUKI/AFP)
Othman's grandfather, Othman Abdelhamid, was the last to supervise a fully Egyptian-made kiswah in 1926. From 1927, manufacturing began to move to Mecca in the nascent Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which would fully take over production of the kiswah in 1962

Back-breaking work

But the family has not been immune to the economic turbulence that began with the coronavirus pandemic, which decimated small businesses and craftsmanship in Egypt. Since early 2020, they have sold around "two pieces per month", whereas before they would sell at least one tapestry a day.

Othman worries that a sense of "worldwide austerity" makes business unlikely to bounce back. Today, there might only be a dozen or so craftsmen whose work he considers authentic, with many artisans leaving the craft for quicker cash flows. "They can make 200 to 300 pounds a day," ($10-$16) driving a tuktuk motorised rickshaw, or a minibus, Othman said. "They're not going to sit on a loom breaking their backs all day."

But still, a century and a half after his great grandfather left his native Turkey and brought the craft with him to Egypt, Othman says he has stayed loyal to techniques learnt as a child, when he would duck out of school to watch his father work.

"It's on us to uphold the craft the same way we learned it, so it's authentic to the legacy we inherited," he said.    (AFP)