The Tentmakers of Cairo: Khayamiya Appliqué

Just south of Bab Zuweila, one of the great medieval gates of Cairo, there is a covered street that seems to glow with colour. On both sides, small shops are hung with fabric panels: lotus flowers and geometric stars, Arabic calligraphy, scenes of pharaohs and village life, all in brilliant reds, blues, greens and yellows. Inside each shop, men sit cross-legged, needles flashing, stitching pieces of coloured cotton onto a backing cloth. This is the Street of the Tentmakers (Sharia al-Khayamiya), and the craft practised here is khayamiya, the Egyptian art of appliqué.

What is khayamiya?

Khayamiya comes from the Arabic word khayma, meaning "tent". The craft is a type of appliqué: pieces of coloured fabric are cut into shapes, folded under at the edges and stitched onto a heavier backing cloth to create designs. The stitches are tiny and almost invisible, and all the work is done by hand.

Traditionally, khayamiya was used to decorate the inside of tents. In Egypt, large decorated tents are put up for important occasions: weddings, funerals, the evenings of Ramadan, religious festivals and public celebrations. The walls of these tents, lined with bright appliqué panels, turn an ordinary street or courtyard into a festive space.

A long history

Egypt has a very long tradition of decorative textiles. Some scholars have linked khayamiya to appliqué work found in ancient times, but the clearest history begins in the Islamic period. Under the Mamluk and Ottoman rulers of Egypt, decorated tents were used by rulers, armies and wealthy families.

One of the most famous uses of Egyptian appliqué was the kiswa and the mahmal. For centuries, Egypt sent a richly decorated cloth to cover the Kaaba in Mecca, carried in a grand procession with the annual pilgrimage caravan. The textiles of the pilgrimage were made in Cairo by highly skilled craftsmen.

The covered market of the tentmakers was built in the 17th century, around 1650, by an Ottoman official, Radwan Bey, as part of a commercial complex. It is one of the last surviving medieval covered markets in Cairo, and a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic Cairo.

Designs and styles

Khayamiya designs fall into several broad styles:

• Islamic geometric patterns, with stars, polygons and interlacing lines, like those found in mosques and madrasas.
• Floral and arabesque designs, with lotus flowers, palmettes and scrolling vines.
• Calligraphy, often verses from the Quran or blessings.
• Pharaonic motifs, inspired by ancient Egyptian art, which became popular from the early 20th century as tourism grew and Egyptian nationalism celebrated the ancient past.
• Folk scenes, showing village life, farmers, camels, fishermen and markets.

Each panel can take days or weeks to make, depending on its size and complexity.

The craftsmen

Khayamiya is traditionally made by men, and the craft is passed down within families, from father to son, or from master to apprentice. A master can work with remarkable speed and precision, cutting and stitching shapes freehand. Most of the workshops on the Street of the Tentmakers are small family businesses, some going back many generations.

Challenges and survival

In the second half of the 20th century, the craft faced a serious threat. Factories began producing printed fabric with khayamiya-style designs, which was much cheaper than hand-stitched work. Today, the colourful tents seen on Cairo's streets are mostly made with printed cloth, not appliqué.

The tentmakers survived by turning to new markets: tourists, collectors and interior designers, buying smaller panels as wall hangings, cushion covers and bedspreads. The researchers Seif El Rashidi and Sam Bowker, who have written a detailed history of the craft, have also described growing international interest, including from quilting communities in Australia, the United States and elsewhere, who have invited Egyptian tentmakers to exhibit and teach abroad.

Ramadan and the tents

The decorated tents are especially linked to Ramadan, when many Egyptians gather after sunset to break the fast and to socialise late into the night. Restaurants, hotels and charitable groups set up tents for iftar meals, and the bright patterns of khayamiya, printed or stitched, have become part of the visual atmosphere of the holy month, as described in our story on Ramadan in Africa.

Visiting the Street of the Tentmakers

The Street of the Tentmakers is in Islamic Cairo, near Bab Zuweila and the al-Muizz Street area, full of medieval mosques, madrasas and markets. Visitors can watch the craftsmen at work and buy panels directly from them. Buying hand-stitched work, rather than printed imitations, helps the craft survive.

Why it matters

Khayamiya is one of the great textile arts of Africa and the Islamic world, a craft of patience and precision practised in the same street for centuries. It connects the tents of Mamluk sultans with the celebrations of modern Cairo, and the needles of Egyptian craftsmen with quilters around the world. In a city of millions, the quiet work of the tentmakers keeps an ancient art alive.

Further reading

• Seif El Rashidi and Sam Bowker, The Tentmakers of Cairo: Egypt's Medieval and Modern Applique Craft (American University in Cairo Press, 2018)
• UNESCO World Heritage — Historic Cairo