14 July
The 14th was a day for acclimatisation to the hot, humid climate, the teeming, crowds of friendly people, contemplating the imminence of the work approaching with the speed of the rush hour traffic of downtown Cairo, and for quiet preparation and contemplation, for example establishing ‘phone and text connections to local collaborators and arranging meetings and programmes for the work in Egypt, and catching up on reports and paperwork.
Cairo and the Nile Delta is the epicenter for Papyrus in Egypt. It was grown here for paper making for about 4000 years (3,000 BC until the 10th or 11th Century AD), I wonder if the Egyptians knew how good it was for paper making when they obtained it and started to grow it? Or rather they initially used it for the more mundane purposes, such as basketry, matting, ropes or even boat building, for all of which it is still used today, and all of which are more immediately obvious applications of this tall, tough plant? Try taking the skin off a Papyrus stem, then trying to tear it across, rather than along the grain and you will se how tough it really is.
The banks of the Nile in Central Cairo, support large populations of reeds (Phragmites australis (Cavanilles) Steudel) growing wild. Occasionally, I was told (Dr. R. Rizk pers. comm. 14/07/2016), small stands of papyrus do arise in these kinds of habitat, perhaps from seed washed out of the Papyrus on Jacob’s Island, or perhaps not, however they do not survive long, because local people pounce upon them and there's no conservation programme for Papyrus in Egypt. Some time was therefore spent gently (you can't walk fast here) searching up and down the banks of the Nile in central Cairo for and in suitable habitat.
The southern tip of Jacob's Island, with the Cairo metropolis in the background, seen from the Giza bank. The island appears to have suitable habitat, and there are a number of populations of Phragmites along the banks of the Nile in Cairo.
This included a visit so far to the gates of the Pharaonic Village. Papyrus is now grown in Cairo, a population has been present since 1969 when it was planted on Jacob Island in the Nile in central Cairo by Dr. Hassan Ragab. Dr. Ragab writes in his book on Papyrus (1980) that he rented the land from the Egyptian Government to grow Papyrus to avoid some of the difficulties he’d experienced growing it elsewhere in Cairo, namely infestation by the invasive Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, fishermen attracted by the fish which were in turn attracted to congregate in the Papyrus beds, and the ire of some local residents on account of its height blocking their views along the stretches of the river he used.
Eichhornia crassipes still prolifically growing in the Nile, Cairo along with abundant discarded plastic bottles.
The Papyrus on Jacob Island was introduced, likely from the Sudan (where it is hyper-abundant), however there are also records of the endemic subspecies hadidii being grown there. C. papyrus ssp. hadidii Chrtek & Slavikova is one of the most important objectives for this research project, therefore this is an important venue in the story of Papyrus. Today the Papyrus is included in, and managed by, a thriving Tourist attraction which is like a Pharaonic theme park. Visitors are taken across to the island by boat and are presented with an entertaining panoply of Pharaonic life and culture. It includes a ride around the Papyrus beds in another boat.
The grand entrance to the theme park like tourist attraction, Pharaonic Village in Cairo.
A day with no sightings of Papyrus, but useful to get to know this great Country and great City of 22 million people. Useful too, to start to appreciate where the published academic literature and life at the Papyrus coal-face in Egypt do not always strictly align ...
15 July
Pharaonic Village - preliminaries
Today I was accompanied by Dr. Rizk of the Cairo Agricultural Research Station and Plant Genetic Resources Consultant to the Pharaonic Village. I presented my credentials, and Dr. Rizk negotiated access to the Papyrus and permission to take samples. Today is Friday and a holiday in Egypt, so the attraction was busy with visitors, the management understandably, while sympathetic to our scientific purposes, preferred samples not to be taken with so many people around, and also held reservations including for our personal safety when collecting, citing snakes amongst the rhizomes as a risk. We arranged, therefore, to return on Sunday to oversee collection by the Pharaonic Village people.
Obtaining Papyrus samples of recent manufacture
Papyrus is now grown as a commercial crop near Damietta. Its trade is geared almost but not exclusively ( ... more of this on Tuesday ... ) towards the reproduction of paper to sell to tourists using the methods developed in mimicry of the Ancient methods by Dr. Ragab, The Papyrus paper is now readily available from the Ragab Institute in Giza itself, and from tourist outlets and markets across Cairo and in many villages and small towns. It is a major tourist souvenir of Egypt.
Three samples were purchased from the famous Khan el-Khalili market, which sells tourist orientated goods from traditional Egyptian traders in a beautiful historical setting. One sample was described as "first grade", the second as "average grade", i.e.. tourist class, and the third openly as made from banana, a well known Papyrus substitute that lacks many of the great qualities of longevity of Papyrus. The amazing ability of Papyrus paper to be bent and folded yet able to spring back to its original shape were demonstrated to us.
All three samples will be returned to the UK with the intention of DNA analysis as part of a wider study of the species, and morphological comparison in the case of the banana. Despite enquiries, no other Papyrus substitutes were found, though it is known that there are other cheap replacement materials used.
Left - Paper reportedly made of Papyrus, a "high grade" sample, this may well only refer to the quality of the image. Right - Paper reportedly made of Banana, sold as Papyrus.
Note the Certificate of Authenticity - the same one was provided for all three of the purchased samples.
Interestingly, the University of Cairo Herbarium has beautiful samples of paper made from Cyperus alopecuroides (= C. dives), the sedge common in the Hula Valley of Israel, and from mixed Cyperaceae. Both superficially look very like Papyrus made of Papyrus (the term for paper is derived from the ancient Egyptian word for the plant). But this is getting ahead again ...
Sample of Papyrus made from the sedge Cyperus alopecuroides (=C. dives), seemingly from the same process as Papyrus from Papyrus. Specimen in Cairo University Herbarium.
Between the village and the tourist attraction? ... more wandering the banks with binoculars, more blogging, more anticipation ...
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