Egyptian Artists Prepare for Ramadan with Lanterns, Small Motifs

 People shop from a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main
street in the northern suburb of Shubra of Egypt's capital Cairo at
the start of the Ramadan. [Khaled Desouki/AFP]
People shop from a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main street in the northern suburb of Shubra of Egypt's capital Cairo at the start of the Ramadan. [Khaled Desouki/AFP]
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Egyptian Artists Prepare for Ramadan with Lanterns, Small Motifs

 People shop from a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main
street in the northern suburb of Shubra of Egypt's capital Cairo at
the start of the Ramadan. [Khaled Desouki/AFP]
People shop from a stall selling Ramadan lanterns along a main street in the northern suburb of Shubra of Egypt's capital Cairo at the start of the Ramadan. [Khaled Desouki/AFP]

Egyptian artists are preparing for Ramadan by making lanterns and small, funny motifs depicting famous figures that locals are used to like “Al-Mesaharati”, “Bougi”, “Tamtam”, and “Bakkar”.

Handmade artisanal works still have a great significance in Egypt, and the modern machine-made products didn’t manage to replace them, which encourage local artists to keep making creative works that recall their folklore and historic symbols to celebrate the holy month.

“We are racing against time to provide a local product that rivals the imported one with better manual craftmanship, special design, and strong fabrics,” Ghada Ibrahim said from inside a workshop of puppets and small motifs.

“Ramadan occupies me all the year. Once it ends, I start thinking of my new works and prepare them alongside the works of other occasions. The holy month reminds us of our childhood, so we make small motifs that we had beautiful memories with. We can’t forget them,” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Ghada makes small motifs depicting famous figures from the Egyptian television and radio including Fouad el-Mohandes, Samir Ghanem, Sayed Mekawy, Nelly, and Sherihan, in addition to folkloric and historic characters such as Scheherazade and Shahryar, the mermaid, Bougy and Tamtam, and Bakkar, as well as many Ramadan-inspired figures like the local desert vendors.

This year, Ghada made small motifs depicting the mesaharati, in addition to Ramadan-inspired puppets, lanterns, and versatile storage boxes. She uses various materials in her works including colored foam, fabrics, and wigs.

The Khiyamia neighborhood in the heart of Cairo embraces the largest market of Ramadan tents. “I make lanterns in different sizes, and wooden artifacts such as crescents and Ramadan-related figures that Egyptians love. These works need between two days and two weeks based on the size and decoration. The process consists of several steps: cutting, sculpting, assembling, polishing, and the final touches,” Sayed Zaki, maker of small wooden statues, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

In the prestigious neighborhood of Sayyidah Zaynab, Hani Husni sells Ramadan decorations made of paper, fabrics, and foam.

“Despite the economic crisis, Egyptians didn’t skip the decorations of Ramadan. The handmade artisanal works are the most demanded for the Ramadan ambiance,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.



Large Sinkhole Appears in English Village, Forces Evacuations 

18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
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Large Sinkhole Appears in English Village, Forces Evacuations 

18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)
18 February 2025, United Kingdom, Godstone: A view of the scene in Godstone after a sinkhole appeared on Monday night. (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire/dpa)

A large sinkhole has appeared in a southern English village, swallowing up at least one garden and forcing authorities to evacuate residents from around 30 homes.

The development of the sinkhole in the Surrey village of Godstone, which appeared on Monday and had grown to at least 20 meters on Tuesday, has been declared a major incident by local agencies.

The BBC said the evacuated properties were built about three years ago, on the site of a former sand quarry. One of the residents, Noosh Miri, said her family was among those evacuated.

"We got a violent knocking on the door," Miri said. "As I opened the door, it sounded like I was in a waterfall because the sinkhole was right in front of my doorstep."

Another resident, Rez Mira, told the BBC his garden fell into the sinkhole: "It's collapsed, the wall will come down, for sure... we're terrified."

Surrey County Council (SCC) said investigations were ongoing, and asked people to avoid the area while work was carried out. Residents from within the cordon were being supported with advice around accommodation, the council said.

"The Local Resilience Forum will continue to meet throughout this incident to ensure everything is being done to resolve the situation as quickly and safely as possible," said SCC's Carl Bussey.

SES Water said in the early hours of Tuesday it was aware of a burst water main pipe in Godstone High Street. It said on Wednesday it had been able to restore supplies to affected properties. Electricity has also been restored.