Hajj Hasan Mohamed Rizk, a teacher in the Taramseh village elementary school and a well-known painter and calligrapher stood in front of a house in Qena decorating the facade with carvings reflecting a Hajj (pilgrimage).

Hajj Hasan Mohamed Rizk, a teacher in the Taramseh village elementary school and a well-known painter and calligrapher stood in front of a house in Qena decorating the facade with carvings reflecting a Hajj (pilgrimage).

Rizk says he inherited a fondness for drawing and house decoration from his father. When he was still in the 8^th grade, Rizk went with his father on house decorating excursions. In 1995, Rizk joined Martyr Abdel Moneim Riad School for Calligraphy in Qena city. “A good calligrapher should study the rules including font sizes and character length, thickness and positioning down the line etc,” he said. “Then comes the practice and experience in building in terms of selecting the tools (brushes, colors ) where to buy such tools and how to use them.”

Carrying a brush in his hand, Rizk explained the Hajj season. “Once the date of the pilgrim’s departure from Saudi Arabia is fixed,” he said “his family starts to prepare for the reception. They clean the house, paint the walls and decorate the façade with drawings depicting their journey to the holy land. No matter how poor, the family will provide all the decoration requirements.”

“A calligrapher will need a considerable amount of time to complete the mural,” Rizk added. “In return, he gets paid starting anywhere from 250 EGP (around $ 32) or more if the family feels happy with the pilgrim’s return. This is high season for calligraphers.”

Rizk maintains that a pilgrim’s family members do not interfere in choosing the type of drawings. He himself decides what to be painted and in which colors. Paintings typically include Kaaba, Rawda Shareef, an imaginative image of the Buraq, the shrine of Abraham, the Black Stone, and means of transport (plane, ship or a camel in the past).

 However, Kaaba remains the most outstanding figure. In addition to drawings, there is also calligraphy. Almost all pilgrims’ houses should have such phrases like the Quran verse: “And proclaim to the people the Hajj [pilgrimage]; they will come to you on foot and on every lean camel; they will come from every distant pass” (Al-Hajj, 27) or the Hadith “That which exists between my house and my pulpit is a garden of Paradise” or “He who visits my grave will be assured my intercession.”

Rizk believes the main reason behind the spread of this art in the past is the challenging trip from Egypt to Hijaz. Paintings constitute an attempt to document this trip as evidence the pilgrim has covered such a long holy trip and to show that he/she is proud of gaining the title “hajj”. For many people in Upper Egypt, this is the only travel abroad throughout their lives. Rizk added that each village has its own artists who master this painting art though each of them with a different unique style. Some give priority to Quran quotes using different types of Arabic calligraphy while others prefer drawings.

Rizk talked about the future of this profession with some sadness and bitterness. “Practitioners of this beautiful art,” he said “enjoyed special status. They would be honoured andreceived much money from both men and women. Some calligraphers used to produce real masterpieces at the time of Hajj or elections before being replaced by modern technology. Each artist would excel in demonstrating his talents using different types of Arabic calligraphy. However, with the advent of electronic signs, this profession has started to fade away. Computers and ready e-styles have replaced talented calligraphers who once used to be rare coins sought by different calligraphy-related businesses. Another reason behind this stagnation is the increasing costs of the pilgrimage.”