My grandfather came here in 1918, before the revolution of Saad Zaghloul, and my family has been here ever since, said Ali Eshaar. I myself have only been here for 40 years.
Most of the book sellers at the Azbakiya book market told a similar tale. Book selling was what their family did with pride.
The Azbakiya book market, located close to Attaba metro station, is known in Cairo for the quantity and variety of books available. In particular, it is famous for its collections of old books that are difficult to find elsewhere.
It is located in a large alley with bookstands running along both sides and several stands in the spacious middle. Each stand is stuffed with books of all kinds, from Stephen King novels to decrepit medical textbooks. The most common are religious texts upon every conceivable topic.
This book is from 1852, Ali said, pulling out a brown hardcover. It belonged to a Frenchman and when he died his family sold it. Entitled L histoire d Israel, it was a history of the ancient Israeli state. It was in remarkably good shape, given that it seemed to have spent a good portion of its life outdoors in the book market.
We ve had it for more than 40 years, Ali said.
Local legend has it that the market was originally founded over a century ago, in the days of Ahmed Abbas Helmi, when an Upper Egyptian came to Cairo and began selling books. In those days, there was no stand and he just spread out his books on the sidewalk. He decided to sell his books in Al-Azbakiya Gardens in order to take refuge in the shade.
Slowly, others joined him and it became a book market. A local tradition was created where families would sell the books of their deceased relatives in Al-Azbakiya. That’s why it was always an incredible place to find old, rare books.
In 1958, former president Gamal Abdel Nasser decided to officially inaugurate the book market. Before that, the market was a haphazard collection of people selling heaps of books from the sidewalk. Abdel Nasser provided stands to protect the books from the sun and licenses to regulate the business activity in the market.
Now Egyptians and foreigners alike head to the lively Al-Azbakiya market to browse for rare finds. As David, an Australian tourist, remarked, I can find five books here I d never find anywhere else and the price would be the same as one book in Australia.
