That time of dates

With Ramadan upon us, Cairo's date market is a hive of activity. Nesmahar Sayed joins the crowds and finds old traditions, big money, recession and Bin Laden
Visiting the date market in Al-Sahel district in Cairo these days, one would think that Egypt produces nothing but dates. Hundreds of people crowd narrow pathways cluttered with thousands of burlap sacks full of dates. On the periphery of the market, on the corniche, trucks filled with dates wait to be unloaded.
Egypt is, after all, one of the world's leading date producers, according to a recent report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). A research study published by the Centre for Palm Trees Studies at Cairo University's Faculty of Agriculture, however, reveals something more: most of Egypt's dates don't get past Egyptian stomachs. The study says that the annual average production of dates in Egypt reaches 630 tons, with an average consumption of 600 tons -- that is, 95 per cent of the production.
Dates are a part of virtually every Iftar meal, when Muslims break their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The tradition of the sunna, which follows the ways of the Prophet Mohamed during his lifetime, requires those who are fasting to break their fast with a date and some water.
Howaida Abdallah, one of the residents of Al-Sahel, was perched in front of her goods, her large, gold earrings flashing above her long, black galabiya. "We sell dates only before the holy month of Ramadan," she explained, noting that throughout the year, the market specialises in selling grains, legumes and bird feed. Alongside her sacks of dates, beans and lentils vied for some space.
But buying and selling dates is tough work and because the run-up to Ramadan is the high season, her brother, Nasr, has been enlisted to help out. "Dates take over Abdel- Qader Taha Street," says Nasr, a mechanic. He quickly adds that the name of the street is known to few. "The street is known only as the 'dates market'."
Al-Sahel market was founded some 100 years ago along the bank of the Nile -- hence the name "Al-Sahel" (the shore). Ships full of goods would end their journey from Upper Egypt and Sudan at this place and the goods were sold by the merchants to the retail shops on the shore.
Na'em Nashed, an exporter of grains and legumes, and member of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce tells the story of his trade, which began with the old, traditional wekalas that housed the goods brought in by travelling merchants, and sometimes the merchants themselves. "We inherited this job from our grandparents, but over time, the wekala has changed," Nashed recalls. "It used to have high, wooden ceilings, with domes. The old buildings are long gone, but we still carry the same names."
According to Nashed, the date business was initiated by three families in the market, those of Nashed Mo'awad, Mo'awad Youssef and Khalaf Kamel Mo'awad, who had all tired of trading in grains. The same names can still be seen at the top of shops in the market today, only with the word "son" appended on the signs.
Today, people from all walks of life come to buy dates at this market, not only for their families, but also for the poor. Ahmed Abdel-Tawab, an engineer who was perusing the mounds of dried fruit, told me that he preferred dates that come from Qasr Al-Ibreimi, "the largest date shops in Upper Egypt owned by the Mo'awad Youssef family in Qena and Aswan." Abdel-Tawab buys between 150 and 200 kilos of dates every year to distribute among the poor. "Buying from the wholesale dealers at the market makes a big difference in the amount of money I pay," he said.
Umm Tareq, a housewife, says she came all the way from across town on the advice of her neighbours, who told her that the prices at the market are the lowest to be found. "It is the second year for me to come here and while the prices of dates are lower, the yamish is not," she said, referring to the dried fruits and nuts used in making khoshaf, a sweet, chunky drink often served at Iftar. "But then, the dates are much more important to my family," she said, smiling.
The prices of the dates and yamish have increased this year, with a sack of dates starting at LE245. This price rises steadily in the run-up to Ramadan, when the same sack will cost LE300. Yasser Kamal, one of the merchants in the market, admitted that the prices of yamish are also somewhat high, with the price of walnuts up from LE16 to LE20 per kilo and coconut prices up by a pound to LE7 per kilo. Only the price of dried apricots has remained the same at LE15 per kilo. Kamal explained that prices fluctuate according to the amount exported from Syria, Turkey and America. For example, the price of golden raisins, which has gone down by 50 piastres in comparison to last year's prices, is due to a higher influx of imports. "Although many of the products' prices have increased, we still sell cheaper than outside the market," Kamal is quick to point out. "For example, a packet of qamareddin [apricot fruit roll] reaches LE11 outside the market. We sell it for LE6."
Despite a reputation for good prices, sellers at the market have all felt the pinch of the recession. Mohamed Kamal, a merchant, complained that people simply aren't buying up goods like they used to. "Selling is not what it was in recent years. Customers are thinking twice before they buy." Kamal couldn't resist a bit of analysis: "The economic problems and privatisation are the main reasons behind this attitude," he said.
Though the market is known for its abundance of dates, yamish can also be found throughout the market. Selling yamish, however, does not appeal to local seller Howaida Abdallah, who is a stickler for specialisation. "Their [yamish] market is at Bein Al-Sourien," she says. "Besides, it is very expensive in comparison with dates, and I cannot afford to buy it," she said.
But Rizq Anwar, also a merchant at the market, is of another opinion. He has been selling yamish for five years. "It is a clean and elegant trade," he explained. "Selling dates requires lots of effort; there is a lot of bargaining when it comes to the price. But in the case of yamish, the price is fixed," he says. Further, people buying dates are also looking for other Ramadan staples. The date market provides a good place for Anwar to "diversify," since customers prefer to buy everything needed for Ramadan all at once.
Dates used to come to Egypt from Sudan on ships that transported lentils. In those days, the market was still situated directly on the shores of the Nile and the merchants would sell their goods to both wholesale and retail dealers. But when the corniche was built following the 1952 Revolution, goods started to come on carts from the train station on Ramses Square. Today, trucks transport commodities from Upper Egypt to Cairo.
Aswan and Qena are the main sources of dates in the market, explained Nashed. "Palm trees produce dates for 100 to 150 years and a single tree may be owned by as many as 40 to 50 people." According to Nashed, one of these owners will travel with the dates from Upper Egypt to represent everyone. The sale can take many forms, but the system used by the Mo'awads is to sell with a commission. Mo'awad explained that each truck that arrives at the market brings with it a letter from the owners of the dates to the owner of the wekala. For each letter, the load is given a number. Each number is allowed access to the wekala in its turn.
Samples from the sacks are provided and an auction begins, attended by smaller wholesale dealers. A sack contains between 80 and 90 kilos and the owner of the wekala takes his commission, a "secret" percentage of the sale. The price of a sack ranges from LE80 to 400 depending on the quality of the dates.
There are six kinds of dates to be found at the market: Sakouti, Baladi, Gandillah, Gargoudah, Malikani and Bartamouda. Others, Nashed says, are given names by their sellers who often draw on current events or famous people. As the attack against America and the war in Afghanistan are today's main topics of conversation, "Osama Bin Laden is the king of the market," one merchant told Al-Ahram Weekly. According to this seller, the price of a kilo of Bin Laden has reached LE16 within the market and LE20 outside. And what about Bush? "He has no place in the market," was the final and decisive answer.
Other merchants prefer to steer clear of politics and sell their wares under names aimed at evoking feelings of nostalgia. I spied Ya missaharni dates for LE6.50 and Shams El-Aseel for LE5.50, both names being taken from the titles of Umm Kalthoum songs. Customers are all curious to taste dates with a catchy name, but it still seems that they prefer to buy the hard dates that are more tasty after soaking them in water or milk.
According to Karam Ghazi, who owns a wekala inside the market and has been in the trade for the past 15 years, the date business gears up four months prior to the holy month. "Starting August, I begin gathering people from Aswan to collect dates from the palms, cut them and put them over the mountains to dry," he says. The dates are then packed in sacks and are perfumed with incense to avoid lice. After this, they begin their journey to Cairo.
Said El-Abroudi is one of the biggest merchants of dates in Upper Egypt who comes annually to the market to sell his produce. He rents space in a wekala to store his dates during his stay. "I came this year with 14 trucks. Each one carries around 100 sacks," El-Abroudi said, adding that he pays LE12 for storing each sack.
Most Cairenes buy their share of dates ahead of the holy month, but Ramadan remains the main season for selling dates to Delta residents. According to Nashed, dates are used in greater abundance in Eid Al-Fitr in the Delta than during Ramadan.
Many of the merchants in the market are not Cairo residents -- most of them are farmers. Ashraf Zanati has been coming to Cairo from Assiut during the months of Shaaban and Ramadan for 12 years now. He comes with over 500 farmers who try to make some money during this period and return to their families with money and clothes for the Eid holiday that celebrates the end of Ramadan.
Farmers from Upper Egypt are not alone in making use of this festival and the blessings of the holy month that come before it. Eid Qurani, a rice pudding seller comes up to Cairo along with the farmers and sets himself up on Ramses Square, near the train station. "I stand here for 15 to 20 days, starting the 10th of Shaaban. and I leave by the beginning of Ramadan. Without the date market, I would not sell half the number of plates I sell every day," Qurani says.
Despite the activity at the market, Nashed believes that the amount of dates entering the market this year has decreased by some 10 per cent from last Ramadan. "The hot weather last summer affected the dates, and dried many on the palms," explained Nashed, who also laid the blame on officials in Aswan governorate. "They are not interested in producing new kinds of dates," Nashed complained. "The Ministry of Agriculture has to play its role, too."
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