It s recession Ramadan this year for many in the famous Khan El-Khalili bazaar, a massive maze-like market. Wael quietly shakes his head over the steady drop of tourists in the past few years. They are afraid of swine flu and of course there s the recession, he says. It s had an effect. I can feel it.
Wael sells ornate Ramadan lanterns that traditionally decorate streets and homes during the holy month, much like Christmas lights in December. The orange light oozes out of the geometric shapes that perforate the recycled tin lanterns. The quality of his products hasn t diminished, he muses, the handiwork is worked on carefully in his workshop. He tells me he s sold 1,000 lanterns so far this season, and though he s not rolling in the cash this year he s happy to be part of maintaining Ramadan customs.
Over in the next humid, narrow side-street inside the souk I run into Mohamed. Earlier he had helped the crew and I find a group of poor people being served free food for Ramadan. We returned the navigation favor by picking up some silver jewelry from a shop he was working for, and I left with a nice silver keychain. Mohamed tells me the world recession has hit him hard and he s making less money now than last year. As he shows me pictures of his two young children, he tells me Ramadan is “the same as any other month for him as he struggles to put food on the table. He goes to the special Ramadan prayers each day, hoping God will help him.
But this month is not really about the economy or the bottom line. Ramadan is a holy month for millions of Muslims around the world. It is believed to be the month the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohamed. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, no food, no water, no smoking. Instead they spend their days reflecting and praying. It s meant to teach patience, self control and commiseration with the poor. The month also means quality family time and plenty of it (whether or not you like your relatives). In restaurants, cafes, boats or homes, families end their fast together during a meal called iftar, traditionally ending it with a single date.
I notice the number of tourists deposited in buses in front of the landmark Al-Hussein Mosque. They join in the chatter at packed cafe tables and smoke the hookah pipe for hours along with Egyptians and other Arab tourists. We take a break too and view our tapes for a few minutes as tasty kebabs and Cokes come to our table. The melodic Ramadan special prayers echo from the loudspeakers of the Al-Hussein Mosque, as the sales pitches around me go on. Here you can get henna tattoos, sparkling Nefertiti headgear or flashing flying saucers.
In the bazaar, Eman tells me her best selling item is a metallic pyramid. She says Arab tourists like Saudis, Kuwaitis, and Emiratis are particularly partial to it. Everything metallic, they like, she laughs, “pyramids more than anything else. She s been helping out at her brother’s shop in the khan for 20 years, she tells me, and says she’s noticed more Spanish tourists recently. They just like it here. They have the same sense of humor as we do, and the same enthusiasm as us Arabs. So we understand each others’ culture better.
All cultures collide in a friendly but loud atmosphere that is the popular El-Fishawy cafe (the first left alleyway when you enter the bazaar) and when we get there, just after midnight, it s buzzing. Egyptian poets and writers including the great Naguib Mahfouz used to frequent this centuries-old cafe. Now tourists, families and friends bond here for hours overnight during Ramadan. Inching my way through the crowd I passed an old man strumming a traditional instrument and singing songs in praise of Hussein, the Prophet Mohamed’s grandson, who was killed in battle at Karbala. The owner gives us a good spot to shoot another sequence for our Inside the Middle East program. It was a little hard with all the noise, and young men bursting through doing The Locomotion didn’t help. But it was fun! My producer Schams Elwazer and I sipped a traditional hibiscus drink around the narrow stool with a gold plated metal top before we headed to the banks of the Nile for more shots.
While the rest of the world sleeps from dusk to dawn, much of the Muslim world is up and about during Ramadan. Looking around at the jammed El Fishawy, I recalled Eman s advice to visitors here, including me: Get to know Ramadan in Cairo and Cairo during Ramadan. I briefly did, and felt like it earned its reputation as the Ramadan capital of the Arab world.
Zain Verjee is a CNN anchor. She wrote this while shooting “Inside The Middle East in Cairo. The program will be aired on Wednesday Sept. 9 at 11:30 and 20:30; on Sept. 12 at 10:30 and 21:00; on Sept. 13 at 7:30 and 20:30; and on Sept. 14 at 6:00
