Feature: Pottery industry's glory fades in Egypt

Pottery making, one of the earliest forms of arts, has no longer the unique place in Egypt it once had, leaving the artisans in dire living conditions.

In the Old Cairo district of al-Foustate, dozens of pottery shops are almost empty of customers, but the employers and the artisans continue to innovate.

Ahmed Saber, a 23-year-old pottery and porcelain craftsman, said the sales are so low. "I haven't sell any piece over the past two months."

I used to earn 500 Egyptian pounds (nearly 63 U.S. dollars) per day in the worst times, Saber told Xinhua.

Saber makes fountains, animals and other products that could be used in decorating the gardens.

He displays hundreds of pieces in the very old area of "Baten al-Baqera" in eastern the capital Cairo.

Baten al-Baqera, located in the middle of monuments of Old Cairo and Saladin citadel, is a densely populated area with poor and illiterate people and is well-known as the home of pottery industry in the Middle East.

In 1999, the Cairo governor has decided to halt that old industry due to pollution and promised to provide the workshops' owners with other alternatives to secure their livelihood, but the promises were vanished.

"I have been working in the pottery arts since I was 10. It's the career of all my family and grandfathers," said Ashraf Rafeh, 45, who is specialized in making the cooking pots, ewers and jugs.

Rafeh, who has six children working with him, added he is very sad since most of the pottery artisans have migrated after their shops were closed.

"Pottery making is on way to extinct," Rafeh lamented.

The increase in prices of the raw material by nearly 300 percent compared to prices five years ago, is one of the difficulties that face the people working with the pottery, Rafeh said, noting that Aswan mud, a key component in that industry, has reached 250 pounds (32 dollars) per ton.

He also added that the declining of the tourist flows, which constitute main outlets for the sales, added more burdens on refreshing that industry.

"The government also moved the shops to remote areas that lack electricity and sanitation services," he told Xinhua.

Pottery is the ceramic material which makes up of earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.

Throughout their long history, from about 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians excelled in the production of the pottery. They produced various types of hand-made ceramics, such as elegant inlaid vessels, bowels, various receptacles, vases and plates.

Mohamed Moustafa, a man in his 40s, who has inherited the pottery job from his father, said "we used to export our products to Libya, Saudi Arabia, France and the U.S."

He said the clients always ask for animals and fountains, adding that a pottered dog for example costs 1,300 pounds (166 dollars), while one fountain is sold at 1,600 pounds (204 dollars).

Nearly 600 people used to work in the area of Batan-al-Baqar, but now you can barely find 20 workers in the area, he said. "Many craftsmen have either changed their career or traveled aboard."

In 2006, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture established a center for traditional crafts in al-Foustate city and launched several fairs for marketing the products in an attempt to revive the industry. Endit