For many the fez is an extinct symbol of the former royal regime
CAIRO: The tarbush (fez), once a significant part of Egyptians’ uniform, is facing a hard time marketing itself despite its strong appeal to both locals and foreigners. But its redeeming feature is a history underlying the red head cover that was introduced to Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century.
The tarbush became extinct following the outbreak of the 1952 revolution. Since then the use of one of the national emblems of royal Egypt became restricted to a few of the older generation, who refused to part with it.
When those people passed away, several types of the red fez were only seen in film productions or at five star hotels as part of attendants’ and waiters’ garbs.
Many tourists want to take a picture of it and it is a souvenir they would feel pleased to return home with.
But despite the fact that the fez has given in to its extinct status, its infrequent presence highlights an entire phase in the history of the country.
And, fortunately, that phase has been kept alive in the memories of the sons of late Haj Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed, the only fez-makers left in the capital.
Their outlet at Al Ghouria district in Old Cairo is one of three important places marked by tourist guides; the other two being the Palace of Sultan Al Ghouri and the Zuweila Gate.
The reality today is that the fez is a trade with no buyers except some turbaned sheikhs and a limited number of filmmakers, a souvenir that’s rarely demanded and an item that’s destined to disappear from the market.
But what has fuelled the sons of Ahmed Mohamed to press ahead with sustaining such a craft?
“It was the will of our father Haj Ahmed, answered Magdy Ahmed, professor of mathematics and one of late Haj Ahmed’s seven sons.
“On his deathbed my father asked us to maintain this trade until we got tired. And referring to Al Azhar to know what exactly he meant by ‘tired’, we were informed that we should keep it up until our health faltered. Hadn’t it been for this will, we would have closed down immediately after he died in 1978, added Ahmed.
Despite the difficulties consisting mainly of the effort required to maintain an unprofitable trade, the true value of that craft remains its association with landmarks in contemporary Egyptian history.
Its changing shape from a dark red flat head cover used by the Khedives to a cylinder-shaped vertical cap with different hues of red and dissimilar lengths of black tails bears witness to the metamorphoses undergone by Egypt from an Ottoman entity to an autonomous state ruled by Mohamed Ali the Great and his successors.
“However, the critical stage came when the tarbush ceased to be part of Egyptians’ official uniform, informed Ahmed.
“Do you know what that meant? It meant you dropped an entire industry from the map of the country. It wasn’t banned, but unlike before, it wasn’t obligatory to use it in offices and ceremonies.
“But the new government, alerted to the outcome of the change, employed all the fez-makers in military logistics.
“It wasn’t surprising, however, that people complied with the new decision, for the tarbush was the symbol of foreign occupation that people detested, be it British or Turkish, he added.
But Ahmed related wistfully that their outlet enjoyed a special status, for his father was late King Farouk of Egypt and late King Hassan II of Morocco’s fez-maker.
He was the major caterer for Sheikhs Mostafa Ismael, Abdel Basit and others renowned for reciting the Holy Quran.
However, the workshop was started by Haj Ahmed’s father, Mohamed Ahmed, when Al Gohuria district teemed with a bevy of rivals.
“This was late 19th century when you could enter Al Gohuria only through the Zuweila Gate, said Magdy.
“At that time only 500 families could be traced in the capital and no item that was made in Old Cairo could be sold in the outskirts. With this rich history my father could not give up the profession when others decided to quit.
The fez is made up of a mold shaped from dry palm fronds. The red clad is made of special wool, the black tail from silk threads that are bound together. “But even these materials are part of our national history, said Ahmed.
“Because the fez was part of our national identity, it was important to secure enough supplies of them. This could not be done without supplying sufficient quantities of wool that was imported from Austria.
“But Khedive Abass Helmy II, the most patriotic of the former Turkish rulers, decided to deduct one piaster from each citizen’s salary to set up a special factory to manufacture the required wool.
“The factory which became known as Masna El Ersh (The Piaster Factory) is now part of the Workers’ College.
But for Ahmed the question of dropping the tarbush no longer relates to the age to which it belonged.
“After the tarbush was sidelined we stopped having a distinctive national feature in our uniform. Egypt and the US figure among few countries that don’t have a national dress code, he said.
But Ahmed’s only concern is how long he can drive a business that generates little, for the tarbush’s prices range between LE 10 and LE 40.
“I don’t know what should be done next. One time some high-ranking police officers walked into the workshop. But to relieve my shock they told me they were getting a fez for a senior European official who was visiting Cairo. The fez costs 200 euros back in Europe when it is sold here for peanuts.
Ahmed and his brothers are not certain if they should resort to foreign markets. But still they continue to comply with their father’s will.
