The connection between Cairo glassblower and the hit film Caboria is closer than it might seem, says Mohamed Mursi Remember actor Ahmed Zaki in the film Caboria? The man who inspired Zaki's famous character is still around, and his life bears more than a subtle trace of the film's plot. always wanted to be a boxer, dreaming of being the next Mohamed Ali or Mike Tyson. But then he settled for a life blowing glass, which he took to with the same passion he had once reserved for boxing. Hodhod comes from a family of glassblowers, and he proudly shows off a picture of his grandfather on the cover of an old boxing publication. His glassware shop, in front of the Qaitbay Mosque in the Al-Mamalik area of Cairo, overflows with lanterns, chandeliers and coloured jars. Some look vaguely Pharaonic, but most are replicas of Mamluk and Ottoman pieces, with a few venturing into modern times. Deep inside the shop, there is the kiln in which Hodhod melts the glass. "You have to get the temperature right, or the colour will come out all wrong," he says. Then the show begins. Hodhod takes a small ball of glass, places it on the end of a long pipe, and blows. A bubble forms, growing slowly into a ball, and Hodhod shapes this into a small vase. This is how he spends his time today, far away from boxing, blowing glass both as part of his work and as occasional entertainment for visitors. He makes the whole operation look easy, and he keeps it entertaining. But there is a lot of hard work and planning that goes into it, along with years of study. There are many secrets of the trade, secrets he is not going to share with every visitor to his shop. While glass today is an everyday object, it was once an expensive material that was as coveted as precious stones. In ancient Egypt, glass appears in the objects used by the country's Pharaohs and priests, mostly in beads for necklaces and bracelets and sometimes inlaid into furniture or used for wall decorations. Artefacts from the 18th Dynasty (c 1550 BCE) show how widespread the use of glass was for personal and household items among the ancient Egyptians. At first, it was used in its crude form, but before long ancient artisans had learned how to manipulate its colour by adding copper or iron oxide, producing blue, green, red and orange tints. Ordinary people didn't have access to glass, however, and they had to wait until the Graeco-Roman period in Egypt before glass became affordable. Around this time, the mass production of glass plates, lanterns, cups and necklaces began. From the seventh century CE onwards, further innovations appeared. Delicate glass lanterns, plates and jars began to be made that were decorated with calligraphic and geometric designs, and these swiftly figured among the prize possessions of the mostly Arab and Muslim ruling class. Perhaps it was also around this time that the traditions Hodhod now keeps alive were established. Hodhod says that his family's involvement in glass-making goes back generations, and he is capable of imitating almost any of the antique pieces on display in today's museums and mosques, he says. Much of the art of glass-making comes from knowing the right mix of dyes and raw glass, he explains. "There are many secrets of the trade when it comes to the use of natural oxides, and I know them all thanks to my family. Even the people who work with me don't know all these secrets. There are nearly 1,000 different kinds of oxides, for example. The red oxide, to give you one example, includes gold dust. This is what makes the resulting glass glow so beautifully. But of course it is not cheap." Hodhod has also worked on restoration projects in several areas of Cairo, including the Citadel, the Qaitbay Mosque and the Islamic Museum. "To keep the heritage alive, you have to know the secrets of the trade," he explains. There is also a closer connection between Hodhod and the film Caboria than many people realise. One day, Hodhod was sitting with Egyptian filmmaker Khairi Beshara, chatting about nothing in particular. Then he recounted some of his boxing stories. Beshara was so fascinated by them that he based the script for Caboria on Hodhod's life. The word caboria, literally meaning "crab", is also connected to boxing in a curious way. When Hodhod was growing up in the Gammaliya district of Cairo, the young boxers of his time used to shave their heads in a particular way which they called caboria. If you ever have the chance to see the film, take a close look at the two characters playing Zaki's parents. If their acting seems natural and unaffected, it is because they are not really acting. These two characters are Hodhod's real parents. Hodhod loves working with his hands, saying that handmade objects are the only ones that it is impossible to imitate. "Look at the Chinese -- they are now making Ramadan lanterns and selling them back to us. But can they make a lantern like this one," he asks, holding up a handmade one. "Can they make a vase like this one? No way." It is for this reason that Hodhod's work is so popular among visitors to Egypt. People come to Cairo specially to buy his work, he says. "The Americans buy from us. Even the Belgians, reputedly masters of glass-making, buy my stuff." Today, Hodhod has got his college-educated sons to work with him in his trade, explaining that in his view glassblowing is part of our heritage and young people need to take an interest in the business. Although he is reluctant to share the secrets of the trade with non-family members, Hodhod also argues that the government should start a school for glassblowers. If this happened, he would be willing to teach there, he says, perhaps even sharing the recipes for the 1,000 ways of mixing oxide-based colours.
