WATANI International
9 November 2008
The famous Ezbakiya book market is back in circulation. Cairo Mayor Abdel-Azim Wazir recently reopened it at its new location in front of the Puppet Theatre in Attaba Square. The book market was moved from its old location at the wall of the Ezbakiya Gardens because of the ongoing construction of the third phase of the Metro underground network extension.
The market sprung up in the 1920s when people who frequented cafes in the streets around Ezbakiya began selling old and used books. These vendors gradually assembled in Ataba Square, close to the park and the Opera House, spreading out their books and selling them to book and culture lovers.
Street vendors
The Ezbakiya Gardens from which the market takes its name were themselves named after Prince Ezzeddin Yazbak, commander of the army at the time of Sultan Qaitbay in the 14th century. Prince Yazbak remodelled the area and installed the gardens with a central pool. Several centuries later, Khedive Ismaïl ordered the pool to be filled in and built on part of it the old Opera House which commemorated the opening of the Suez Canal.
When the booksellers began selling their used volumes in the 1920s the police continuously chased them away. They had to wait until 1957 to be granted temporary street vendors licenses. In the early 1990s all the stalls round the gardens were moved to al-Darassa during the construction of the first Cairo metro line, but they returned to Ezbakiya Wall in 1998.
Popular and modern
Several organisations helped with the project to upgrade the book market. The main benefactors were the Agha Khan Foundation, the Darb al-Ahmar Society and the Cairo Metro company, who gave LE3 million for the construction of 133 new stalls. One of the top priorities of the organisations was making the stalls modern, simple and stylish at the same time.
The Ezbakiya wall is the cheapest and best place in Cairo to buy used books, which makes it an excellent recourse for researchers and students looking for discontinued books. It is also an excellent place to find rare and special editions, religious books, children’s stories and copies of old magazines. These include articles by such famous writers as Taha Hussien, Yehia Haqqi and Abbas al-Aqqad to name but a few. The stalls also have old issues of the national newspapers from the 1930s onwards; thus preserving an important part of our history. Prices range from 50 piastres upwards.
With the passage of time the wall has acquired other products that complement the book sale industry such as audiotapes, posters, wooden handicrafts and antiques.
A singular experience
Becoming a patron of the Ezbakiya Wall is in itself an experience to be treasured. Books are stacked in piles on the ground, with prices ranging from 50 piastres to five Pounds. Engineer Emad Ishaq, who has been buying books here for a long time, says it is easy to search for the book you want by squatting down and going through the piles until you find what you are looking for. You can then read a few pages or even a whole chapter before buying. By spending a few pounds you return home with a good pile of books on a wide range of topics and so start your own library.
However not all regulars are satisfied with the current market. Customer Malak Amin, a social worker in his early forties, complains that nowadays most of the books available in the market are religious, to the extent that entire stalls sell nothing but books on religion. He says the stalls are so small and crammed with books that it is difficult for more than two people at a time to go through the piles, which are placed on the shelves in such a way that just the stems are visible. One often has to ask for help from a touchy bookseller.
White-collar worker Ahmed Khaled adds that the stalls have too many magazines and too few original books, and that when one asks for a certain title one is frequently told to come back in a week’s time for it, only to find that the price is almost the same as in a general bookstore. The wall is also very crowded with Metro passengers and noisy street vendors, making it impossible to concentrate on finding what you are looking for.
Book fair
All the same, students should be encouraged to visit the Ezbakiya wall to experience a part of local heritage, and to search for that elusive book in Arabic or in some other language, as well as other hidden treasures. The market does a thriving business at the Cairo Book Fair when it attracts huge crowds. Cultural events, lectures and debates with prominent figures during the summer months might add to the interest in the market and ensure it remains popular.
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