hand: Pottery industry Pottery has a long history in the Fayoum since the pharaonic times. Abu Ballas, Father of Pots, was an important center of pottery history in the Fayoum. Located on the caravan trail that linked Wadi El Rayan and points south with Wadi Natrun and points north, Abu Ballas was a major station where caravans stopped to rest. The pots scattered around this area date from the Roman era and consist mainly of smashed amphorae. The pottery encountered there can be dated back to the Roman times. Pottery art continued in the Fayoum history and now is reinterpreted in two great pots centers, El Nazla and Tunis. place: Tunis - Nazla _ Kom Ushim villages .. hand: Basketry and Palm Products Since the beginning of history, Palm trees played an important role in the life of the Fayoum farmers. Some call it "the life tree" due to its various uses specificallytofarmers.Thefarmersusethepalmtreesin making many products. The areas planted with palm trees in Fayoum reach 7500 feddan. These areas contain almost 1.7 million fruitful palm trees spreading in most of the villages of Fayoum especially those in the villages of Snnores, Ebshuay, Etsa and Tami. During the long life of the palm trees, the farmer trims them to help them grow. The harvesting of the trimming process is used in basketry products. Made of rice straw and date palm leaves, the coiled baskets of Fayoum come in a large variety of shapes varying from large laundry baskets to dainty ones for little trinkets. This basketry technique has been found in Fayoum since the Neolithic period, long before the pharaohs came into power. The baskets are made by women working at home. El-Alaam and El Kaabi villages are centers of the famous Fayoum basket making tradition. place: E'laam - Ka'abi villages .. hand: Handmade textiles Textile manufacturing was known 5000 years B.C. in Fayoum. The instruments vary from very complicated machines to very simple manual looms. There are three kinds of fabrics: the firstisNaturalfiberstakenfromplantsandanimalslikethefiberstakenfromlinen,JuteandCalyx.Otherfibersaretaken from animals such as: wool, the hair of the camel, goats and rabbits. The second is the Synthetic fiberslikecoppersilkandthesyntheticsilk.Thethirdisfibersmadefromnaturalandsyntheticfibersmixed together. The textiles' manual instruments for making traditional carpets “Seggad”, mats “Haseer” and rugs “Keleem” are mainly used in the rural areas of Fayoum. Rug making, carpet making as well as mat making are considered traditional crafts that depend on simple looms. This is popular in many villages in Fayoum such as "Desya", "Sonbat", "Fedemeen" and "Tatoon". place: Desya village .. hand: Rowboat construction Kahk is one of the known places of constructing the small ships that ranges from 8-10 meters. Only three families from the village are involved in this activity. They suffer from the lack of demand for their products due to poor fishproductionfromLakeQaruninthelastdecade.Manyofthefishermencomplain about the lack of funding from the Fishermen Co-operative of Kahek. The Construction of each ship takes from one to two months. Wood from berry trees is used in manufacturing the ships. place: Kahk Village .. hand: Cordage (Dobarah) made from flaxplant Garfas village is famous for its production of the cordage (rope) made from the flaxplant.Thiscraftisthreatened to disappear due to the increase of the prices of the flaxplantandalsobecausefewleaderscontrol the linen trade. Simple tools are required and can be made mainly inside people’s houses. These tools consist of a wooden frame and three long nails fixedinoneofthewalls.Onlytwomembersof the family can participate in making these cordages. place: Garfas Village .. hand: Fishing nets manufacturing Many fishermen of Kahk manufacture the nets they need themselves. Women and children participate in this process in their houses. They get the raw fiber materials from Cairo or Fayoum place: Kahk ..

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