Never mind the glitter and the retail glory of the malls and brand shops mushrooming in Cairo. Many people, especially from the lower and middle classes, still prefer the old market places where you can find great bargains. One of the most popular of the no-nonsense, in-your-face retail areas is Attaba, which has existed in the heart of Cairo for hundreds of years. Spilling into several side streets and behind a multi-storey car park, Attaba is a haven of impromptu shops on the pavement and regular emporia that have taken over pavements. It pays to advertise, even if you, the prospective customer trip over the merchandise. From the ground to eye-level is an Aladdin’s cave bursting with garishly coloured clothes, shoes, electrical goods, furniture, toys and, at one time, tasers, but they are no longer ‘zitzing’ these days.
Just when you think you have seen everything that Attaba has to offer, a narrow alley sparkling with hundreds of glittery chandeliers catches your eye. That is the entrance to Darb el-Barabra market, the go-to place for happy occasions: Weddings, birthdays or sobou (seven days after the little arrival).
Darb el-Barabra is named after the descendants of the Berber tribe, or Amazighs, from North Africa who came to Egypt with Jawhar Al-Siqilli, one of the founders of Cairo. These Berbers lived in this area at the time of the Fatimid conquest of Egypt in the 10th century AD. Nubian workers settled at the beginning of the 19th century.
Here, you will find colourful decorations that make you want to party, even if you are not planning one. The area is especially known for its wide range of chandeliers. From brass lamps to crystal chandeliers worth thousands of pounds – there isn’t a single shape, style or quality of lighting missing in this narrow alley. It is also the number one provider of all the items necessary for sobou celebrations, including candles, bonbonnieres, sieves, ribbons bearing baby names, sweets, light decorations, and little decorated boxes with sugar- and chocolate-coated almonds.
During a sobou celebrating, the newborn is placed in a big sieve on the floor. Then, the mother gently steps over the sieve seven times while other women sprinkle her with salt to ward off the evil eye. With the baby still in the sieve, one of the women, typically a family elder, bangs a copper pestle against a mortar. This is one of the oldest rituals of the sobou. Some believe that it aids in the development of the baby’s hearing and others do it to get the infant familiar with everyday sounds. When the celebration ends, family members are given gifts when they go home, usually a silk bag full of nuts and sweets.
Zamzam inherited her husband’s sobou shop in Darb el-Barabra 20 years ago and has been running it since.
“Darb al-Barabra has always been and will remain the only outlet for sobou items in Cairo,” Zamzam told the Egyptian Mail. Even the other shops that sell sobou necessities buy them from here and resell them at higher prices,”
“We’re not getting as many customers these days as we did before coronavirus and out takings are down 40 per cent,” Zamzam said.
“So, sobou is celebrated with a few relatives and friends, or they arrange for aqiqah instead, hence there’s not so much call for sobou gifts.
“Aqiqah is an Islamic tradition of animal sacrifice on the occasion of the child’s birth. This is considered an offering to protect the newborn.”
Darb el-Barabra goes in for chic stores as well.
Bride-to-be Amany Shady came down from Mansoura for decorations. After shopping around, she ended up at Darb el-Barabra, where she found items of the same quality as in more expensive outlets, but at great prices.
“How great depends on your ability to bargain,” Amany said.
Shop owner Abdel Meguid Othman, who sells home decor products, said that Darb el-Barabra is always been abuzz with Egyptians, Europeans and Arabs.
“Most foreigners come here for the antiques,” Othman said before helping a young Sudanese man choose a Christmas gift for his bride.
Fatima, a woman from Algeria, told this paper: “I truly love the festive spirit of this market. I have to come here every time I visit Egypt and go back home with gifts for friends and relatives.”
