“Down the rabbit hole” is an English-language idiom which refers to getting deep into something or ending up somewhere strange. Lewis Carroll introduced the phrase as the title for chapter one of his 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, after which the term slowly entered the English vernacular. The term is usually used as a metaphor for distraction. In the 21st century, the term has come to describe a person who gets lost in research or loses track of time while using the internet.
My personal travels – I’m drawn to raw ancient culture, maybe it’s my advancing age! I have a few unorganized paths – researching a specific city – I might draw a circle radius of 100 miles away or an hour away and extend the direction to see if there is something I should not miss! Ie – years ago, headed to San Juan en-route to St. Barth’s- my circle included a small resort, Royal Isabela, owned by Charlie Pasarell..
Barely a 90 min drive from San Juan – a Rabbit Hole discovery…Full disclosure: when I attended my Catholic girls high school, the extremely handsome Charlie Pasarell, played in the annual Ojai Tennis Tournament. He played Davis Cup singles at UCLA, and doubles with Arthur Ashe; I’m admitting to a schoolgirl crush and several of us, girls in Catholic School uniforms, followed him every year. Today’s vernacular: stalking! Of course, he never knew we existed, unaware of his plaid uniform clad fan club! I added Royal Isabela to my list of site inspections; alas, he was not on property! He eventually founded the Indian Wells Tournament and years later sold it to Larry Ellison. Look up his story, his legendary 112 Wimbledon game match with Pancho Gonzales, it is tennis history!
Back to the Rabbit Hole – culture and ancient civilizations enthrall me – my recent PNG expedition was based on seeing the iconic Mud Men in a National Geographic Magazine when I was 10.
My initial Egypt Journey was exhilarating, Covid shut down the world 3 days after I arrived home, crushed. I’m returning, drawn by the opening of the GEM in Cairo finally, and a few intriguing hotels I must visit! In my initial investigation, I discovered an area of Cairo near the legendary Naguib Mahfouz Café. Situated within a 17th-century covered market, the Qasaba of Radwan Bey, a preserved Ottoman-era covered market and commercial agency in Cairo, showcasing historical trade and architecture. Located near the heart of the historic Khan el-Khalili bazaar, offering an authentic blend of traditional Egyptian atmosphere, Arabesque decor. Much shorter travel radius, the Cairo Tent Maker Block, Sharia al-Khayamiya, where and an age-old form of folk art, known as Khayamiya is still practiced by several artisans. The name Khayyamiya comes from the Arabic word khayma (‘tent’).
I plan to explore these ancient few blocks and meet some of the few remaining craftsmen, including Tarek El Safty.
Built in 1600s, the Tent Makers Market, the so-called El Khayameya, is Cairo’s sole remaining medieval covered market which takes its name from the bright colored fabrics, including appliqué works, cushions, covers, Egyptian cotton bed covers, wall hangings, car covers and traditional Egyptian galabeyas (floor length dress clothes).
It is famous for producing hand stitched appliqué panels, which were originally used to decorate tents and pavilions. A piece of cloth or other material is laid on top of another, normally larger piece and the two are stitched together, often to create a decorative effect. A combined piece of cloth may in its turn be stitched on top of another, creating layers of designs.
The use of appliqué can be traced back for at least 3300 years and is probably much older. Some of the oldest examples of appliqué come from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun who died in c. 1323 BC.
The houses in the street were built mainly in the mid-seventeenth century by Ridwan Bey al Faqari (who died in 1656), who held the title ‘Amir al-Hajj’, and the shops and ateliers were intended to provide Hajj pilgrims going to Mecca with everything they needed, including leather saddles and water bags, ropes, and of course, tents. By the nineteenth century the craftsmen were also making and decorating urban pavilions used for family and official gatherings. Normally the outsides of these tents were made of plain, off-white cotton, the insides were lined with intricate geometric patterns, often in blues, greens, red and yellows.
By the twentieth century fewer pavilions were being built and the craftsmen began to make wall hangings, smaller panels, cushion covers, bags and items of clothing.
Popular subjects – Pharaonic scenes: since the latter half of the nineteenth century panels have been made depicting scenes based on ancient Egyptian tomb and temple reliefs. Calligraphic: appliqués based on traditional Islamic texts, especially those from the Qur’an. Egyptian folklore and daily life: designs depicting daily life in ‘modern’ Egypt, notably agricultural, street and village scenes, dervishes, ships etc.
Story telling in pattern speaks to me, my love language
Tent Makers to the original Fez makers – another industry in decline and another post!
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