![]() ![]() Its form inspired the decoration of the columns of ancient Egyptian temples. ![]() The papyrus plant, with its fan-shaped foliage, grows in water and can reach four metres (13 feet) in height. “I lost about 80 percent of my total income – I used to earn nearly $1,000 a month and now it’s almost zero,” the 60-year-old told the AFP news agency as he showed off his Tutankhamun paintings. Today, al-Qaramus has 25 farms trying to make ends meet by selling papyrus, compared with about 500 prior to the revolution, according to farmer and artist Said Tarakhan. The COVID-19 pandemic has further debilitated the sector: Egypt earned just $4bn in tourist revenues last year, a quarter of what it had anticipated before the global health crisis. Once used by ancient Egyptians as writing paper, papyrus is now decorated by local artists with hieroglyphics, Arabic calligraphy and representations from antiquity and nature to create souvenirs for eager visitors.īut tourism in the North African country has been battered since its 2011 revolution and after a Russian airliner was downed by the ISIL (ISIS) group in 2015. The village and its surrounds, located about 80km (50 miles) northeast of the capital Cairo, now make up the largest papyrus production hub in the country, experts in the sector say. In the 1970s, an art teacher in the village of al-Qaramus taught farmers the millennia-old techniques for transforming the plant into sought-after paper decorated with ornate drawings and text. In the lush green fields of Egypt’s fertile Delta Valley, farmers and artisans struggle to make a living as they keep alive the Pharaonic tradition of making papyrus. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |