TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Egyptian artist paints murals on houses to celebrate haj
Change Size
The artist Eid Al Salwaawi paints murals about the holy Kaaba and the rituals of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, in Cairo, Egypt, on July 17, 2019. (REUTERS/Hayam Adel)
E
id Al Salwaawi, 69, paints murals of the rituals of the haj pilgrimage on the walls of a house in Cairo's Sayeda Zainab neighborhood.
Sometimes he volunteers to paint scenes that celebrate the haj and religious stories and lessons, other times he is paid.
Every year, Muslims travel from around the world to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to complete the haj, one of the five pillars of their faith. This year's haj will conclude on Sunday.
Salwaawi said the haj scenes he saw on the walls of houses in his home village as a child in northern Aswan captured his imagination. "So I draw camel caravans and soldiers wearing traditional hats guarding them," he said.
Read also: Chile's Valparaiso, an open air graffiti and mural art gallery
He uses simple tools like a handmade palm frond brush and a mixture of paint, vinegar, rosewater, gum Arabic and glue.
One mural depicts women as they embark on the pilgrimage, dressed in bright colors, another shows a caravan carrying the tapestry that covers the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam. He adorns his works with prayers and Koranic verses.
Each mural takes him between two and three hours.
