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Al-Ahram Weekly
29-03-2025
- General
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Traditions and trends of kahk Al-Eid - Features - Al-Ahram Weekly
At the southern end of Al-Muizz li-Din Allah Street in Islamic Cairo, just a five-minute walk from Bab Zuweila, there is Al-Kahkiyine Street. With the exception of some aluminum kitchenware stores that sell cookie moulds and biscuit funnels, there is nothing to associate this historic alleyway with kahk al-Eid, a kind of biscuit made to celebrate the end of Ramadan with diverse filings and powdered sugar on top. In fact, the alley, once part of a larger complex that also included Haret Al-Halawyin — or Sweet-Makers Alley — is now a venue for eclectic goods, with pickles apparently being the most popular. Nevertheless, tradition states that it was in this alley that kahk al-Eid originated in the Middle Ages. According to Abdel-Azim Fahmi, founder of the Sirat Al-Qahira (Cairo Biography) initiative that is designed to document the history of the city, there is no information about the kahk al-Eid that were produced during the Fatimid Dynasty, which ruled Egypt from the 10th to the 12th centuries CE. However, it is established that Al-Kahkiyine Street was founded during the rule of the Fatimids, whose interest in religious occasions and festive routines, including the baking of confectionary specific to every occasion, was well-known, and this would have included kahk al-Eid. Fahmi said that it is not known whether today's kahk al-Eid are the same as those available 10 centuries ago. It is not even an established fact the Fatimids were the first to introduce these biscuits into Egypt, as some argue that the tradition was initiated earlier during the rule of Ahmed ibn Tulun, the previous ruler of Egypt. 'There are so many narratives, and some compare the kakh that were served during Fatimid rule to the North African biscuits of today,' Fahmi said. He added that it is not clear either whether that marked the beginning of the habit of splashing powdered sugar on top of the round biscuits or not, given that it is only in Egypt that kahk al-Eid is served in this way. Some food historians have chosen to associate the kahk al-Eid of the Tulunid and Fatimid dynasties in Egypt to a much older version that dates back to Pharaonic times. According to anthropologist Nahla Emam, what is established is that the Egyptians have long had some version of kahk. The evolution of the recipe and its association with the Muslim feast that comes at the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan is another story that has seen different narratives. 'Whatever the accounts of its origins, kahk al-Eid is part of the collective Egyptian heritage,' Emam said. 'It has been there for as long as anyone can remember, and the tradition, and the recipes, have been passed down from one generation to the next — with inevitable improvisation and changes, of course,' she added. Changes to kahk al-Eid have seen many phases from the Middle Ages, when the ruler of Egypt would order the placing of a dinar inside each biscuit before they were distributed among his subjects, to more modern times that have coupled kahk al-Eid with chocolate spreads and other fillings. Food historians well versed on the matter say that it is hard to know how recipes have developed over the centuries to the versions we see today, according to which kahk is either plain or has fillings that include caramelised walnuts, dates, and sugar-based pastes. It was only in the 1990s and early 2000s that some untypical fillings were introduced, including a marron glacé paste in some high-end Cairo patisseries. 'This was a novelty at the time, but it did not really qualify as kahk — it was almost a new kind of confectionery,' said Ragiya, an engineer in her early 70s. EID AL-FITR: Kahk is one of four kinds of traditional biscuit that are made for the Eid Al-Fitr, the feast that ends the holy month of Ramadan. The others are ghorayeba, which has more sugar and butter and hardly any wheat, petits fours, and regular biscuits. According to the vendors at four Cairo patisseries, kahk and ghorayeba are still made according to the traditional recipes, while petits fours and biscuits can be made to newer ones. During the past quarter century, a fifth item had been introduced in the form of cookies. Ragiya recalls that when they were attending an international school in Cairo, her grandchildren declined to even try kahk or ghorayeba and insisted on having cookies instead. Today, they go for macaroons as part of the Eid selection of bakeries. It was only last year that one of her grandchildren agreed to try kahk filled with chocolate paste. 'For me this is not kahk at all, but for her it is the only way she would eat it,' she said. According to Emam, it is this flexibility that has kept the tradition going. 'This is part of the survival mechanisms of heritage — things evolve in order to live on,' she said. The petits fours and biscuits that have been integrated into the confectionary assortment for Eid Al-Fitr in Cairo and some other cities were introduced as an addition to kahk al-Eid. In the rural areas where the major part of the Egyptian population lives, people mostly bake only kahk or at times kahk and ghorayeba. According to Ahmed Kadri, founder and co-manager of Bascota's, an Alexandria-based online bakery service who is making kahk for the first time this year, there is demand for new flavours that have found their way into many traditional Ramadan delights, including chocolate and pistachio pastes, caramel, and honey paste, and most recently matcha-based paste. Petits fours and biscuits have also seen 'new twists', though it was only in recent years that these have affected kahk and ghorayeba, leading to kahk with caramel fillings and ghorayeba with chocolate fillings, he said. 'For most people, however, these items are simply not an option,' he added. Judging by tasting events he has been hosting for his new line of kahk, he concluded that 'plain kahk and kahk with traditional fillings remain the market preference.' Bascota's, he added, will certainly consider some of the non-traditional fillings, but this will not be the core of its production because even his clients who can afford high-end quality and prices prefer the traditional versions. According to Emam, there are several reasons why traditional kahk has survived all the incoming trends and influences. 'The majority of people live in rural areas where they are less exposed to and less influenced by the newer trends. This has been key to the preservation of the traditional version of kahk,' she said. Another key factor relates to 'the nature of collective Egyptian taste', which subscribes to core recipes that have been baked and served for decades. Trends come and go, but the traditional recipes have been resilient, just like the traditional recipes for koshari (a rice and pasta dish) that have survived changing fashions. Emam said it is important to remember that Egypt is not the only Arab country where kahk is baked for the Eid Al-Fitr, as well as for Christmas and Easter for Christians. Almost every other Arab country has its own version of kahk, though these are all similar to the Egyptian recipe in various ways. 'This is why at times we go to the UN cultural agency UNESCO as a group of countries to have an element of our immaterial heritage registered collectively,' she said. 'It is why we need to think that our recipes have never been far from the influences of others. Heritage has a dynamic of its own.' TRADITIONS: It is the traditional recipe of Kadri's mother, originally also that of his grandmother, that Bascota's kahk uses, 'with some modifications in the weights of the ingredients'. Meanwhile, social media videos and TV cooking programmes have started to share recipes and baking methods for kahk, ghorayeba and petits fours that are more compatible with healthy eating and also with increasing levels of inflation. Some grocers are said to have added 30 per cent to the price of the ingredients. Shoppers at mid-range patisseries in Cairo said that the prices of kahk had increased by at least one third. Most said that they were buying less than in previous years, and some said that in the future it would make more sense to bake at home. Up until the 1970s it was usual to prepare kahk at home and then send it to the nearest bakery to be baked. With the introduction of modern home ovens, people became more inclined to bake smaller quantities at home. Since the early 1950s, the biscuit company Bisco Masr has also had a line in ready-baked kahk. 'For the middle and upper-middle classes, it was not fashionable to buy the Bisco Masr assortment, however. It was only later, perhaps in the 1980s and 1990s, that Bisco Masr became popular, but in any case fewer and fewer people were making kakh at home,' Ragiya commented. Bisco Masr was considered to be of reasonable quality and at a reasonable price for the middle classes. However, the real impact of the company, later privatised and not so much of a value-for-money choice, was that it emphasised a culture of buying ready-made foods. This encouraged more patisseries and bakeries to put out their own selections, which did not all necessarily use top-quality ingredients but at least made it possible for more people shopping on a limited budget to buy. This year, the prices of kahk have soared to an almost prohibitive degree, forcing more people to shop at the outlets of the Ministry of Supply that offer kahk at economic prices, even if not at the best quality. 'We can still buy it, even if we do not buy as much as we used to. I know people who have decided to drop kahk al-Eid completely, simply because their budgets are too strained,' said Afaf, a Cairo shopper at a Ministry of Supply outlet. According to Wael Gamal, head of the economic section at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an NGO, it is not hard to think that levels of inflation have forced limitations on people's spending, especially on items like kahk. 'The 2019 World Bank figures show that some 70 per cent of the population lives on less than LE42 a day, and for this reason we can see why items like kahk are no longer an option for many,' he said. There has been over 20 per cent inflation for over two years, though it has gone down recently, and people have already cut down on their spending on food items, including dairy products, meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetables. 'People are trying to spare themselves from hunger. They are not worried about eating healthy food or buying confectionary,' he said. With every devaluation of the currency since the first in 2016, more and more people have hit the hunger zone and more and more have become apprehensive shoppers. This has a negative effect on the overall economy because restrained spending means subdued growth. However, Gamal noted that this does not apply to the entire population. 'There is a segment, small as it might be, whose income and savings are in foreign currencies, and they are certainly in a more comfortable place financially,' he said. This is why while it has become practically impossible for many to afford a kg of kahk for LE120 at the outlets of the Ministry of Supply, others are able to spend LE120 on a single macaroon at a French patisserie in New Cairo. The result is disturbing. 'We are talking about acute socio-economic discrepancies that hit at the very core of social cohesion,' Gamal said. 'This is not a small problem, and it is not strictly an Egyptian problem either. It is a problem that many countries around the world are facing.' 'So, it is not just about who can buy kahk and who cannot, or about who can buy which type of kahk, but rather about the shocking discrepancies in income and spending that are present in the country.' * A version of this article appears in print in the 27 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
07-03-2025
- General
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Marking the beginning of Ramadan - Features - Al-Ahram Weekly
The start of the Muslim holy fasting month has always been a time of great festivity in Egypt, for both rulers and the ruled. On the evening of 28 February, the Dar Al-Iftaa in Cairo announced the conclusion of Shaaban, the eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. This meant that 1 March would be the first day of Ramadan, one of the holiest days for Muslims who observe a fast during the holy month from dawn to dusk for 29 or 30 days until the start of the 10th month of the Muslim calendar, Shawal, which marks the start of Eid Al-Fitr, the festival that ends the month of Ramadan. Shortly after the eishah [evening] prayers, the announcement was made on Egyptian Radio and Television. It was followed by traditional Ramadan songs that welcome the advent of the Muslim holy fasting month, including the iconic Ramadan Gana (Ramadan is upon us) by Mohamed Abdel-Motaleb and Aho Geih ya Welad (Here it comes everyone) by Al-Tholathi Al-Mareh, both of which date from the mid-20th century. Special radio and TV channels then started special programming. Meanwhile, the beginning of the taraweeh prayers, extended evening prayers, was being broadcast on social media and some private channels. These last for the 29 evenings of the holy month. Al-Hussein Mosque opposite Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo is one of the mosques that the pious attend for the taraweeh prayers. Near this mosque, like around every main mosque in Cairo and other governorates, evening festivities last until the pre-dawn hours, with the first Sohour (last meal before dawn) in particular being marked in the older restaurants of the historic quarters of the city. Earlier on Friday, Sufi orders in Egypt organised a march to mark the beginning of the holy month. With hundreds joining, the march was headed by chair Abdel-Hadi Helal and accompanied by Osama Al-Azhari, the minister of Waqf. It went across the older quarters of Cairo, starting at the Mosque of Sidi Saleh Al-Gaafari and heading towards Al-Hussein Mosque. Al-Azhari had already inspected the central mosques in other cities, with his deputies doing the same in governorates across the country to make sure that preparations for a month of extended prayers were all set. According to Abdel-Azim Fahmi, founder of Sirat Al-Qahira (Biography of Cairo), an independent initiative that works on documenting the heritage of the capital, festivities to welcome Ramadan have always been deeply rooted in the history of the city, especially after the start of the Fatimid Dynasty's rule of Egypt in the 10th century and throughout the subsequent period of Mameluke rule that lasted until the 16th century. Before and after these centuries, he said, welcoming Ramadan was observed with less attention even if not in lesser fashion. Fahmi said that the lavish festivities associated with the advent of Ramadan were first introduced by the Fatimids, who had a taste for grandeur. A frequently cited anecdote refers to the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim Bi Amr Allah, the sixth Fatimid ruler of Egypt, who ordered the manufacture of a silver cover for the pulpit of Al-Azhar Mosque in the month of Ramadan as a sign of rejoicing. 'The imprint of the Fatimids on the festivities of Ramadan was very large. However, given that there is very little left of the Fatimid architecture of Cairo in the city today, the oldest site that still survives is the minaret of the Mosque of Qalawan, where the crescent moon of Ramadan used to be looked for to mark the beginning of the month,' he said. Built for a Mameluke Sultan, Al-Mansour Qalawan, who ruled Egypt in the second half of the 13th century, the Qalawan Complex of a mosque, madrassa, and mausoleum still stands in Al-Muiz li-Din Allah Street in Islamic Cairo today. Religious and judicial figures would ascend the staircase of the minaret, and if they agreed that the crescent moon could be seen, they would then come down to announce the beginning of the fasting month. 'This would be a very big moment, with the minaret of Qalawan itself lit with hanging lanterns and with many more lanterns and candles being lit in every mosque across the city,' Fahmi said. BEGINNING RAMADAN: Lanterns and candles would also be lit in the stores that were scattered across the street, which by the time of the Mamelukes was named Al-Kassaba Al-Ozmah. A march headed by leading religious and judiciary figures and joined by leading merchants would proceed to the residence of the Sultan to wish him well on the occasion, Fahmi added. As the march proceeded across the city, onlookers would come to the windows of their houses to watch and join the jubilant mood. Once the Sultan had received the delegates and accepted their greetings, he would order generous donations of food to be offered both to the rich and the poor. This would be followed by long sessions of prayers in the city's mosques, food shopping across the city, and the appearance of the messaharati, a man who would walk around the city before dawn during Ramadan banging a drum and calling on people to wake up for Sohour. According to Fahmi, the festivities of the month were a sign of the grandeur that marked the Fatimid but especially the Mameluke rule of Egypt. They were a sort of political statement, rather like the grand mosques, madrassas, and mausoleums that were built during the rule of the Mamelukes. The march at the beginning of the month was a statement of the power of the ruler, who would at times be present to oversee the distribution of food and other gifts. In his book on Sultan Qalawan, published by the Cairo publishers Madbouli as part of its Pages from the History of Egypt series, historian Mohamed Hamza notes that the behaviour of the Sultans was an integral part of their status as rulers at the top of Egypt's mediaeval political system. According to Hamza, the grandeur that marked Qalawan's 11-year rule was only part of the wider context of economic prosperity and political stability that marked his reign. 'Egypt was prosperous and flourishing under the rule of Qalawan,' Hamza wrote. Its prosperity could be seen everywhere, and unfair taxes were removed and the government reformed to make it more efficient in preventing injustices. Education, agriculture, trade, and charity were all prosperous under Qalawan, according to Hamza. 'The country's health services were particularly impressive,' he wrote. Fahmi said that a clear sign of this prosperity was the fact that during the month of Ramadan the lanterns on the minarets and city façades would be lit from sunset to dawn, 'so that people would know that the time was still right for them to eat and drink.' 'Once the lanterns were extinguished, they would know that it was time for them to start observing the fast.' During the evening hours in Ramadan, children would be doing what they still do today, especially in the older quarters of the city — playing with coloured lanterns in their hands. 'Much of what we see today in terms of celebrating the advent of Ramadan dates back to the Fatimid and Mameluke periods,' Fahmi said. Such traditions were never fully suspended, not even during the Ayoubid Dynasty between the Fatimids and Mamelukes or during later Ottoman rule when Egypt was no longer the seat of an empire. Fahmi said that during the time of Egypt's former ruling Mohamed Ali family, starting from its founder in the early years of the 19th century up until the last years of the rule of Egypt's last monarch king Farouk, there was always keen attention paid to the advent of Ramadan. Things were obviously different from the way they had been done in the Middle Ages, but all the ruling members of the Mohamed Ali family realised the significance of the holy month of Ramadan and made sure that they did what the public expected of them. From the first night and throughout the holy month, the rulers of Egypt in the 19th and 20th centuries made sure that they did what their predecessors had done to mark the beginning of Ramadan, offering and accepting greetings for the beginning of the month, holding Quranic recitations, giving money to charity, and joining public Iftars (meals for breaking the fast). Ramadan, Fahmi said, was always also a political matter. 'This is precisely why Napoleon made sure that he showed respect for the traditions of the month' during his time in Egypt at the head of the French Expedition to the country in the late 18th century. However, things changed dramatically after the beginning of the rule of the Free Officers in Egypt after the 1952 Revolution. 'The idea of a ruler and subordinates was off the table. Under the republic, the president saw the people as citizens and not subordinates,' Fahmi said. During the rule of successive presidents since then, every president has given due attention to the beginning of the month of Ramadan and to made sure that people have affordable access to commodities. According to Mohamed Afifi, a professor at Cairo University, the rulers of modern and contemporary Egypt have always known how to position their religious observances, 'each in a different way and to a different extent, but always with a political objective as well.' Observing prayers, especially on Fridays in the larger public mosques, has been another custom that every ruler has committed to during the Muslim holy month, Afifi said. In this respect, there has been no difference between the Mameluke Sultans and the modern presidents of Egypt, he concluded. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
