In Volume Two of “Egypt’s Craftsmen” (“Sanai’ayat Masr”), the journalist Omar Taher gives credit to the forgotten creators of commercial products that shaped Egypt’s daily life for decades.
The book, published by Dar Al-Karma, continues a project Taher began in 2016.
In it, Taher answers questions like, “Who made Egypt’s first potato chips?”; “who provided Egyptians with pocket tissues?”; “who made their running shoes?”; “who inspired them to draw near to God with coolers of water?”; and “who seeded in their hearts the love of Indian films?”, among others. He provides readers with the tale behind each of the industries in question.
Taher describes his book as an attempt to shed light on “people who contributed to shaping the features of Egypt and the history of its people, without getting their share of light, love, recognition and credit”.
The 400-page volume seems more like a historical album filled with his heroes’ biographies, photos, archival materials, and old commercials. Some of the materials were provided by these forgotten craftsmen’s families.