Feature: Prophet's Birthday high season for Egyptian pastry shops

Walking in Egyptian streets these days, it is hard not to notice the pastry shops, or the small tents displaying Halawet el-Muwlid, the special sweets sold on the occasion of Prophet Mohamed's birthday, or, Mawlid al-Nabi.

Prophet Mohamed's birthday is observed by Sunni Muslims on the 12th of Rabi' Al-Awwal, the third month in the Islamic lunar calendar, or on the 17th of the same month by Shiite Muslims.

The special sweets have been a major feature of Egyptian celebrations of the Prophet's birthday Wednesday, ever since the Fatimid dynasty launched the tradition in 973 of the Hijri calendar.

A side street in the Cairean district of Maadi, brightly lit with decorations from a famous pastry shop, attracts Gamila Seroru, a housewife in her sixties.

"I will buy three kilos of various sweets, one kilo for each of my married daughters whom I'll visit Wednesday for the celebrations," Serour told Xinhua.

During Islam's early days, the Prophet's birthday, or Mawlid al-Nabi, wasn't celebrated.

However, it is currently an official holiday in 47 Muslim countries, spanning from the Middle Eastern to Africa and Malaysia.

Still, the celebrations in Egypt are the largest in the Middle East with Sufi Muslims the biggest devotees of this Holy day.

Egyptians celebrate the occasion by decorating public streets with lamps and silk cloths, setting up tents for Sufi chants and singing the prophet's life story.

Food is freely distributed to the poor, with people gathering in mosques and streets for prayers, reciting the Qur'an (the Muslim Holy Book) and listening to poetry and songs praising Prophet Mohammad, his life, values, accomplishments and teachings.

Many Muslims commemorate the occasion by fasting from dawn till sunset.

Some Muslim sects, however, do not observe the Mawlid al-Nabawi occasion, such as the Salafis and Wahabis, believing that it mustn't be celebrated since the Prophet didn't celebrate his own birthday during his lifetime.

As for the Muslims who do celebrate the occasion, this year contains a multitude and a variety of sweets compared to last year, with new added flavors, Serour said.

Sweetened hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, sesame and peanuts with sugar-coated jockeys and dolls are the occasion's traditional sweets.

However, Serour said she found another variety of delicious creamy sweets with a variety of colors which are not too rich for children.

Still, this year traditional sugar jockeys and dolls were replaced by artificial ones in the elite district of Maadi, which saddened nine-year-old Hanein Hassan.

"My father is used to buying me the sugar doll with her Islamic costume every year, and I don't know why it disappeared this year."

Hassan told Xinhua that her father looked for the pink sugar doll with her white dress in vain in seven pastry stalls.

Karim Mohamed, a 30-year-old Maadi pastry shop employee said his shop stopped selling the traditional sweet dolls and jockeys as they are very fragile and broke easily.

However, Mohamed said the Prophet's birthday sweets are selling quite well this year as it seems the number of customers has doubled since last year.

"Prices are cheaper and the quality is better, in addition to the new variety of sweets introduced this year," Mohamed added.

He said a kilo of mixed sweets sells for 30 Egyptian pounds (less than four US dollars) - four pounds less than last year.

He believes the reduced prices are due to increased stability in the country, as it encouraged factories which had halted their production due to the country's previous instability, to resume production.

Subsequently, supply is currently higher than demand, he explained.

He added that he has been displaying the sweets for the past 10 days in his shop with demand increasing on a daily basis.

"The shop attracts Muslims, Africans and Copts since we sell special Coptic sweets as well."

He added that sweetened peanuts and sesame are the shop's best-sellers, in addition to "Malban," which is a soft fruit-jelly-like sweet.

The price of a kilo of those sweets ranges from four to six dollars.

He added that the most expensive type of sweet is the Malban with nuts, also known as Turkish delights, selling for 12 dollars a kilo.

But Mohamed said the impressive change this year is that one can purchase "Halawet el-Muwlid" per piece, which is affordable for those of limited income or diabetics.

"Some of the "Halawet el-Muwlid" pieces sell for just two pounds," Mohamed added.

"I will buy two kilos for my Coptic friend who really enjoys Halawet el-Muwled," said 42-year-old Nadya Moustafa, a teacher, who agrees with Mohamed that prices are quite reasonable this year.

"It will be a rather suitable gift for my friend as the Coptic feast is approaching too," Moustafa added.

On the other hand, 55-year-old Aly Fahmy, a taxi driver, complained that prices are too high and that he can't afford the sweets, "40 to 60 Egyptian pounds for a kilo of sweets is very expensive," he said, removing pieces out of his box in order to reduce the quantity, therefore the price.

"I was planning to buy two kilos, but now I will buy only one Kilo and split it with my mother-in-law," Fahmy added.

Ismael Ibrahim, a street cleaner opposite the same pastry shop, echoed what Fahmy said, "It's impossible for me to buy even one kilo, since my monthly wages hardly cover rent and food."

"So how can I buy my children "Halawet el-Muwlid" when I can barely feed them?" Ibrahim asked. Endit