In Fayoum’s famous commercial street, Ramla, you cannot miss Darwish al-Shamy’s sons’ workshop which makes the Fatimid lantern with its different shapes and sizes.
The Egyptian tradition of purchasing and lighting lanterns in Ramadan must be the strongest in the Islamic world. This tradition dates back to the Fatimid era when the lanterns were made of copper and were lit by a candle. Later, they were made of tin and tainted glass, and now they are generally made of plastic, working with batteries quite often even singing to you.
But the traditional Fatimid lantern essentially stands out amid the other evolved forms. It also gives a sensation of Ramadan like no other. It remains a legacy unaffected by the appearance of the imported plastic Chinese lantern.
via The Fatimid lantern: A Ramadan legacy | Egypt Independent.
Ismailimail 